c- 


JV1EMOIR  OF  A  MECHANIC. 


JEING    A    SKETCH   OF   THE 


LIFE  OF  TIMOTHY  CLAXTON, 


WRITTEN    BY    HIMSELF. 


TOGETHER    WITH 


MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 


BOSTON: 

GEORGE  W.  LIGHT,  1  CORNHILL. 
NEW  YORK  :— 126  Fulton  Street. 

1839. 

£ 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1859,  by 
GEORGE  W.  LIGHT,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court 
of  Massachusetts. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.     CHILDHOOD. 

Birth  and  parentage.    Early  education.    A  benevolent 
lady.    Occupations.    Disposition.    Anecdotes.     .    9 — 14 


CHAPTER  II.     APPRENTICESHIP. 

Arrangements.  Benefits  of  a  little  learning.  A  useful 
friend.  An  intelligent  journeyman  with  an  ignorant 
master.  An  attempt  at  clock-making.  "Writing  and 
composition — Advantages  of  practising  them.  Draw- 
ing. Apprenticeship  happily  ended 15 — 24 


CHAPTER  III.     RESIDENCE  IN  LONDON. 

Manner  of  spending  time.  The  industrious  find  enough 
to  do.  Experiments  on  perpetual  motion.  Ingenious 
mouse-traps.  Female  acquaintance.  New  friends. 
Marriage 25—32 


CHAPTER  IV.    SCIENTIFIC  IMPROVEMENT. 

A  new  field  of  thought.  Scientific  lectures  and  studies. 
Formation  of  the  Mechanical  Institution.  Its  his- 
tory  33—36 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  V.     RESIDENCE   IN  RUSSIA. 

Arrival  at  St.  Petersburg.  Description  of  the  building  in 
which  the  writer  was  employed.  Difficulties.  Their 
settlement.  Recommendation.  An  accident.  A  threat- 
ened explosion.  More  scared  than  hurt.  .  .  .  37 — 44 


CHAPTER  VI.     THE  ARTS  IN  RUSSIA. 

Russian  workmen.  Public  buildings.  Carpenters.  Ma- 
sons. Useful  contrivances.  Carriages  and  horses. 
Academy  of  Arts.  The  Emperor's  Hermitage.  The 
Summer  Palace 45 — 54 


CHAPTER  VII.  FIRST  ADVENTURES  IN  AMERICA. 

Employment  during  the  passage  to  America.  Excur- 
sions in  the  country.  First  impressions.  Anecdote. 
Residence  at  Methuen.  Reading  society.  Amuse- 
ments, &c 55 — 64 


CHAPTER  VIII.    RESIDENCE  AND  OCCUPATION 
IN   BOSTON. 

How  employed.  Making  of  school  and  philosophical 
apparatus.  Causes  of  success.  Loss  of  shop  and 
materials  by  fire.  Good  fortune  comes  at  last.  .  Co — 72 


CHAPTER  IX.     INVENTIONS. 

Small  Air-pump.  Experiments  performed  with  it.  How 
invented.  Large  Air-pump.  Medium  sized  Air-pump. 
Bottle-proving  machine 75—80 


CONTENTS.  3 


CHAPTER  X.     SOCIETIES  IN  BOSTON. 

Boston  Mechanics'  Institution.  Its  history.  Classes. 
Charitable  Mechanics'  Association.  Boston  Lyceum. 
Mechanics'  Lyceum.  The  Essayist.  The  Young 
Mechanic.  Franklin  Lectures.  .  81—92 


CHAPTER  XI.     HOME   REVISITED. 

Anticipations.  Visits  to  friends.  London.  Early  im- 
pressions. Occupations.  Formation  of  the  Bungay 
Lyceum.  "  Hints  to  Mechanics."  Engagement  in 
manufacturing  apparatus 93 — 100 


MISCELLANEOUS  PAPERS. 

Introduction,       101 

Origin  of  Mechanics'  Institutions, 104 

London  Mechanical  Institution, 126 

Methuen  Literary  Society, 133 

Boston  Mechanics'  Lyceum, 135 

The  Ignis  Fatuus, 138 

A  Paper  for  all, 139 

Hints  on  the  Economy  of  Heat, 140 

New  Air  Engine 142 

Perpetual  Motion  a  Perpetual  Notion, 143 

Theory  and  Practice, 146 

Hydrostatic  Lamps, 147 

A  New  Discovery — Apprentices'  Library  Associations,  150 

Amphibious  Steamer, 153 

1 


4  CONTENTS. 

Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  Mechanical  Genius,  155 

Warming  Rooms, 157 

The  Present  Condition  of  the  Working  Classes,      .     .  160 

Extracts  from  Letters,       162 

Russian  Recommendation, 167 

The  Young  Mechanic, 168 

Mr.  Claxton's  Inventions, 172 

The  Bungay  Lyceum, 173 

"  Hints  to  Mechanics," 176 


PREFACE. 


THE  sketch  of  the  life  of  Mr.  TIMOTHY 
CLAXTON,  which  I  have  the  pleasure  of  present- 
ilig  to  his  friends  and  the  public,  has  been  for 
two  or  three  years  in  the  course  of  preparation, 
having  been  delayed  from  time  to  time,  in 
the  expectation  of  receiving  additional  mate- 
rials from  him.  We  have  now  received  docu- 
ments, the  addition  of  which,  we  believe,  will 
greatly  enhance  the  value  and  interest  of  the 
book.  His  affairs  in  England  being  for  the 
present  established,  it  has  been  thought  best  to 
defer  the  publication  of  the  work  no  longer. 

Mr.  Claxton  is  a  man  well  known  and  much 
respected  among  us,  not  only  as  an  industrious 
and  ingenious  manufacturer  of  school  and  phi- 
losophical apparatus,  but  as  a  zealous  and 
efficient  promoter  of  the  cause  of  popular  im- 


6  PREFACE. 

provement,  especially  among  the  mechanic 
classes. 

The  papers  from  which  this  volume  has 
been  compiled  were  entrusted  by  Mr.  C.  to 
my  care,  as  an  intimate  friend  and  associate, 
on  his  leaving  this  country  in  1836,  with  the 
permission  of  making  such  selections  for  pub- 
lication, and  such  verbal  corrections  in  the 
matter,  as  should  be  judged  proper.  The  first 
part,  or  Memoir,  is,  in  fact,  an  autobiography, 
which  has  been  re-written  from  a  sketch  first 
published  in  the  Young  Mechanic,  (a  periodi- 
cal some  time  since  printed  in  this  city,)  enti- 
tled "  Memoir  of  a  Mechanic,"  and  continued 
by  the  author  up  to  the  present  time. 

"  It  was  thought  by  my  friends,"  he  says, 
"  that  it  would  be  useful  towards  the  encour- 
agement of  young  men  who,  like  myself,  begin 
the  world  poor,  and  deficient  in  education ; 
and  also  in  showing,  in  some  degree,  what 
may  be  done  by  industry,  perseverance  and 
economy  of  money  and  time,  by  those  who  are 
obliged  to  leave  school  at  an  early  age,  to 
attend  to  some  mechanical  occupation  as  a 
means  of  subsistence." 


PREFACE.  7 

Similar  motives  have  since  led  to  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Memoir  to  the  present  time, 
blended  with  such  accounts  of  institutions  for 
the  improvement  of  mechanics  and  others,  as 
it  might  seem  proper  to  insert — and  to  its  pub- 
lication in  the  present  form. 

To  the  Memoir  has  been  appended  a  selec- 
tion of  Miscellaneous  Papers,  consisting  chiefly 
of  articles  written  by  him,  serving  to  illustrate 
the  subject  matter  of  the  Memoir  itself,  and  .to 
set  in  a  clearer  light  some  things  which  were 
there  but  slightly  touched  upon.  The  most 
important  of  these  articles,  is  an  account  of 
the  origin  of  Mechanics'  Institutions,  which, 
though  brief,  is  interesting,  and,  we  have 
reason  to  presume,  more  accurate  than  any 
which  is  already  known  to  the  public  in  this 
country. 

As  to  the  manner  in  which  the  task  of  pre- 
paring this  volume  has  been  performed,  it  may 
be  remarked  that  the  matter  of  the  Memoir 
has  been  altogether  newly  arranged,  and  di- 
vided into  chapters,  for  the  sake  of  perspicuity; 
though,  with  the  exception  of  slight  verbal 
alterations,  and  indeed  a  sentence  here  and 


8  PRKFACE. 

there  added,  where  the  abruptness  of  the  ori- 
ginal made  it  necessary,  the  language  is  en- 
tirely that  of  Mr.  Claxton  himself.  His  style, 
it  will  be  observed,  is  a  matter-of-fact  style, 
dry  in  the  extreme  ;  and  yet  so  simple,  honest 
and  straight-forward,  as  to  be  interesting  on 
that  very  account. 

The  likeness  which  fronts  the  title-page 
was  engraved  on  steel  in  London,  from  an  oil 
painting  by  Mr.  S.  S.  Osgood,  of  Boston, 
which  has  been  procured  since  Mr.  Claxton's 
return  to  England.  The  small  air-pump  is 
represented  in  the  engraving,  as  being  the 
germ,  as  it  were,  of  those  subsequent  improve- 
ments and  inventions  by  which  Mr.  Claxton 
has  so  favorably  distinguished  himself. 

It  is  but  just  to  add,  in  conclusion,  that 
having  been  unable,  on  account  of  my  business 
engagements,  to  devote  that  time  to  this  work 
which  I  should  have  been  glad  to  do,  I  have 
been  very  materially  assisted  in  it  by  Mr. 
D.  H.  Howard,  a  scientific  friend  of  mine 
residing  with  me,  who  was  also  on  terms  of 
intimacy  with  Mr.  Claxton,  before  he  left  this 
country. 


PREFACE.  9 

The  result,  such  as  it  is,  of  my  efforts  to  do 
justice  to  my  absent  friend,  and  thereby  to 
encourage  my  fellow  mechanics  in  the  noble 
work  of  self-improvement,  is  respectfully  sub- 
mitted to  the  public. 

THE  PUBLISHER. 

Boston,  June,  1839. 


MEMOIR  OF  A  MECHANIC. 


CHAPTER  I. 


CHILDHOOD. 

Birth  and  parentage.     Early  education.     A  benevolent  lady. 
Occupat^is.     Disposition.     Anecdotes. 

I  WAS  born  in  England,  the  22d  of  August, 
1790,  at  Earsham,  Norfolk,  near  Bungay, 
Suffolk,  about  one  hundred  miles  from  the 
metropolis.  My  father's  name  was  Thomas 
Claxton.  He  was  for  thirty-five  years  a  gar- 
dener at  Earsham  Hall,  in  the  service  of  three 
successive  employers  of  the  family  of  Wind- 
ham. 

My  parents,  though  poor,  were  honest  and 
industrious.  Neither  of  them  could  read  or 
write;  and  feeling  this  deficiency  in  them- 
selves, they  were  determined  to  do  what  they 
could  for  their  children,  (five  in  number,  two 
older  and  two  younger  than  myself.)  They 
2 


10  MEMOIR    OF   A    MECHANIC. 

put  me,  at  the  age  of  five  or  six  years,  to  a 
school  kept  by  a  woman ;  and  at  seven,  I  was 
sent  to  a  school-master,  whose  name  was  Wil- 
liam Simpson,  in  the  adjacent  market  town  of 
Bungay,  for  two  years,  except  during  harvest 
time,  when  I  was  taken  away  to  assist  my 
mother  in  gleaning,  which  is  a  great  help  to 
the  poor  in  that  part  of  the  country. 

My  schooling  was  paid  for  by  a  benevolent 
lady,  the  Hon.  Mrs.  Windham,  (she  being  the 
daughter  of  a  lord,  and  the  wife  of  a  country 
squire,)  who,  while  she  lived,  kept  six  boys 
arid  six  girls  at  school  for  two  years  each;  one 
half  of  whom  left  school  every  year,  to  make 
room  for  new  ones.  I  feel  it  my  duty'to  record 
the  goodness  of  this  amiable  woman.  She  not 
only  instructed  the  ignorant,  but  fed,  warmed 
and  clothed  those  who  were  in  need.  I  made 
the  best  of  this  opportunity  to  get  a  little 
learning,  which  was  confined  to  reading,  wri- 
ting and  arithmetic  ;  and  was  tolerably  quick 
at  the  latter.  When  I  left  school,  I  had 
reached  the  Rule  of  Three  ;  being  then  about 
nine  years  old. 

Sometimes  it  was  difficult  to  find  suitable 
children  to  send.  In  my  own  case,  I  was  sent 
a  year  earlier  than  usual,  to  fill  a  vacancy 
occasioned  by  a  boy  being  dismissed  from 
school,  after  three  months'  trial.  He  was  a 


,* 


CHILDHOOD.  11 

dunce,  and  in  the  habit  of  playing  truant. 
This  the  master  could  not  allow,  as  his  credit 
was  at  a  stake;  for  this  lady  obliged  him, 
with  his  twelve  scholars,  to  attend  at  her 
mansion  every  year,  where  each  used  to  read 
and  answer  questions.  She  would  inquire  of 
those  about  to  leave  school,  what  books  they 
had ;  and  order  the  master  to  furnish  them 
such  as  she  thought  they  needed  most.  After 
this  ceremony  was  over,  she  gave  each  of  us 
a  shilling,  and  told  us  to  proceed  to  a  room 
where  we  sat  down  to  a  sumptuous  dinner, 
and  were  attended  by  the  servants. 

My  father,  being  a  day-laborer,  had  no  par- 
ticular employment  for  me ;  so  to  keep  me 
from  mischief,  after  I  left  school,  I  was  set  to 
spinning  wool  by  hand,  a  year  or  more,  after 
which  I  was  released  to  take  care  of  a  flock  of 
sheep,  which  fed  by  the  road-side  in  the  day- 
time, and  were  turned  into  a  field  at  night. 

I  disliked  this  employment  very  much,  from 
fear  of  losing  any  of  them ;  and  I  often  counted 
them  many  times  a  day.  They  often  broke  into 
other  persons'  enclosures.  At  such  times  they 
were  very  noisy :  the  old  ones  would  call 
their  young  towards  them,  whenever  they 
were  about  to  leap  a  fence.  In  fact,  I  became 
so  tired  of  their  noise,  that  the  bleating  of  a 
sheep  gave  me  pain  for  years  afterward. 


12  MEMOIR   OF    A    MECHANIC. 

I  was  next  engaged  to  work  in  a  garden  for 
supplying  the  market  with  vegetables,  until  I 
was  between  twelve  and  thirteen  years  of  age, 
when  I  was  apprenticed  to  a  trade. 

I  was  tender-hearted,  timid,  and  very  bash- 
ful. Still,  I  was  not  deficient  in  courage, 
when  put  to  the  test ;  but  it  seemed  to  lie 
dormant,  until  called  forth  by  some  emer- 
gency. This  disposition,  which,  in  a  modified 
form,  has  clung  to  me  through  life,  prevented 
my  being  an  assailant,  but  was  very  useful 
when  I  was  placed  in  the  situation  of  a  de- 
fendant. 

I  used  to  get  as  far  out  of  the  way  as  I 
could,  when  my  father  had  a  pig  killed,  or 
was  putting  a  ring  into  the  nose  of  one;  for  I 
could  not  bear  to  hear  the  cries  of  these  or 
of  any  other  animals.  So,  when  I  see  horses 
going  up  hill  where  it  is  slippery,  I  am  sure  to 
turn  my  head  another  way.  Arid  yet  I  have 
witnessed  executions  at  the  Old  Bailey,  though 
it  has  cost  me  some  feeling;  and  I  have  fre- 
quently gone  out  of  my  way,  to  avoid  the 
sight  even  of  the  preparations. 

I  was  so  timid  that  it  was  a  great  trial  for 
me  to  go  into  lonesome  places  after  dark ;  but 
I  was  put  to  the  test  one  night,  by  a  young 
man  who  tried  to  frighten  me,  by  way-laying 
me  on  my  way  home,  while  I  was  an  appren- 


CHILDHOOD.  13 

tice.  He  concealed  himself  in  a  lonely  place, 
and  when  I  came  nearly  opposite,  he  began 
creeping  on  his  hands  and  knees  towards  me. 
having  a  dark,  shaggy  coat  on,  with  the  cape 
drawn  over  his  head.  He  expected  I  should 
run,  and  then  he  could  run  after  me ;  but 
I  crossed  towards  this  unsightly  object,  and 
touching  it  with  the  end  of  a  small  stick,  soon 
found  it  was  a  substance  of  some  sort,  when  I 
was  relieved  from  my  suspense  by  my  gentle- 
man standing  up  and  laughing.  I  laid  my 
stick  on  his  back,  and  said  it  was  well  for  him 
1  had  not  a  larger  one  with  me. 

At  another  time,  a  strange  young  man  took 
my  walking  stick  from  me,  by  watching  his 
opportunity,  while  I  was  seeing  the  volunteers 
go  through  their  manojuvres  on  Bungay  Com- 
mon, one  holiday.  He  was  much  older  and 
stronger  than  I,  and  I  gave  it  up  for  lost,  not 
having  any  person  with  me  who  would  inter- 
fere. But  about  half  an  hour  afterwards, 
when  the  companies  had  been  dismissed,  I 
saw  the  man,  with  my  stick,  sitting  on  the 
stocks  in  the  market  place,  between  several 
other  strangers  from  out  of  town.  I  went  up 
to  him,  and  demanded  my  stick ;  but  he  only 
laughed,  when  I  seized  it  with  both  hands, 
giving  him  a  push  backwards,  and  with  a 
sudden  twist,  wrenched  it  from  him.  He  did 


14  MEMOIR   OF   A   MECHANIC. 

not  rise  from  his  seat,  and  the  other  men 
laughed  heartily,  which  made  him  look  very 
foolish.  This  little  feat  shows  that  the  con- 
sciousness of  right  strengthens  the  weak, 
while  the  guilty  are  easily  confounded. 


CHAPTER  II. 


APPRENTICESHIP. 

Arrangements.  Benefits  of  a  little  learning.  A  useful 
friend.  An  intelligent  journeyman  with  an  ignorant  mas- 
ter. An  attempt  at  clock-making.  Writing  and  compo- 
sition— Advantages  of  practising  them.  Drawing.  Ap- 
prenticeship happily  ended. 

MY  father  had  some  notion  of  putting  me  to 
the  trade  of  a  painter  and  glazier;  but  I  did 
not  like  the  idea  of  working  on  ladders  and 
temporary  stages,  suspended  in  front  of  lofty 
buildings.  I  had,  finally,  to  decide  between 
the  trades  of  a  carpenter  and  a  whitesmith. 
I  made  choice  of  the  latter,  and  was  appren- 
ticed to  Mr.  John  Bobbit,  at  Bungay :  and  I 
do  not  recollect  that  I  have  ever  regretted  it, 
although  I  have  practised  that  and  similar 
branches  for  more  than  thirty  years — com- 
mencing April  6,  1803. 

My  agreement  was  to  serve  seven  years, 
and  receive  a  certain  sum  weekly  as  wages ; 
and  if  I  served  my  time  out  duly  and  truly, 
my  master  promised  to  give  me  ten  pounds. 


16  MEMOIR    OF    A    MECHANIC. 

My  father  was  to  find  me  in  board,  lodging 
and  clothing ;  and  as  he  lived  about  a  mile 
from  my  master's  shop,  I  had  that  distance 
to  walk  every  morning  and  evening.  We 
worked  from  six  in  the  morning  until  seven  in 
the  evening,  taking  out  an  hour  and  a  half 
for  meal  times.  On  Saturday  night,  we  left 
work  at  six  o'clock. 

I  had  not  been  long  at  my  trade,  before  I 
found  the  benefit  of  my  schooling.  There 
were  two  other  apprentices,  much  older  than 
myself,  neither  of  whom  could  take  an  account 
of  the  work  as  it  was  delivered  from  the  shop. 
The  foreman  was  very  glad  to  put  this  task 
upon  me ;  and  I  was  as  willing  to  do  it.  The 
master  was  engaged  in  his  sale-shop,  (hard- 
ware store.)  and  the  apprentices  were  occa- 
sionally called  upon  to  assist  when  he  was 
absent,  or  on  a  market  day.  This,  together 
with  the  great  variety  of  work  done  in  our 
shop,  afforded  considerable  scope  for  the  abili- 
ties of  any  young  man.  We  either  made  or 
repaired  almost  every  article  made  of  metal 
used  about  a  house,  whether  in  its  structure 
or  in  domestic  affairs,  together  with  tools  used 
by  mechanics,  and  some  work  for  mills. 

The  first  money  1  received  was  at  Christ- 
mas time,  when  the  apprentices  have  the  privi- 
bge  of  calling  on  their  master's  customers  for 


APPRENTICESHIP.  17 

a  Christmas  box.  My  share  was  about  half 
a  guinea,  with  which  I  bought  a  Bible  con- 
taining the  Apocrypha,  (as  I  wished  to  have 
it  complete,)  and  a  thick  cyphering  book.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  year  1804,  I  began  arith- 
metic anew,  going  through  more  thoroughly 
than  I  had  done  at  school — writing  in  every 
rule  and  case,  and  using  a  greater  variety  of 
examples. 

I  sought  advice  and  assistance  from  any- 
body and  everybody  that  came  in  my  way. 
One  of  the  most  efficient  of  my  advisers  was  a 
journeyman  carpenter.  He  had  several  books 
full  of  examples  in  mensuration  of  superficies 
and  solids,  embracing  the  methods  of  measur- 
ing various  kinds  of  artificers'  work.  The 
figures  or  diagrams  were  very  neatly  drawn. 
I  had  several  lessons  of  an  evening  from  this 
man  ;  but  he  was  soon  taken  away,  having  to 
undergo  a  surgical  operation.  He  died  a  few 
days  afterwards. 

I  never  was  more  sorry  at  the  loss  of  a  rela- 
tion, that  at  losing  this  man,  as  I  had  made 
up  my  mind  to  study  as  much  as  I  could  with 
him.  His  books  were  purchased  of  his  widow, 
by  his  employer — a  numb-skull  at  writing, 
whose  accounts  were  kept  by  his  wife. 

This  employer  used  to  delight  in  teasing  his 
journeyman  about  his  knowledge.  "Tom,'3 


18  MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 

said  he,  sitting  one  day  at  a  tavern,  "  there  is 
a  coach  going  by  :  tell  me  how  many  times 
the  hind  wheel  will  turn  round  in  going  to 
London."  "  Give  me  the  size  of  it,"  was  the 
reply.  "  Oh,  any  fool  can  do  it  so  :  you  ought 
to  tell  without  that."  He  was  often  treated 
so  in  company,  by  way  of  derision.  Thus 
people  undervalue  what  they  cannot  reach. 

Sometimes,  however,  poor  Tom  had  the  ad- 
vantage over  his  employer.  The  lady  I  have 
spoken  of  wrote  to  the  carpenter,  on  a  certain 
time,  requesting  him  to  build  a  pheasant  house, 
to  be  placed  in  a  shrubbery  near  the  mansion. 
The  form  was  to  be  a  hexagon,  if  the  thatcher 
could  thatch  it  of  that  shape.  He  soon  began 
to  coax  Tom,  to  get  him  into  a  good  humor; 
for  he  verily  believed  him  to  be  the  only  man 
from  whom  he  could  learn  the  number  of  sides 
in  a  hexagon.  Tom  referred  him  to  his  brother 
John  and  others,  but  to  no  purpose.-  At  last 
he  told  this  very  cunning  man  the  number 
of  sides  it  contained.  By  purchasing  Tom's 
books,  he  expected  to  l>e  able  to  beat  every- 
body in  the  neighborhood.  I  wished  to  obtain 
them  ;  but  that  was  impossible. 

My  leisure  time  was  now  devoted  partly  to 
study,  and  partly  to  mechanical  pursuits.  I 
made  several  curious  articles  during  my  ap- 
prenticeship, of  which  the  one  of  most  conse- 


APPRENTICESHIP.  19 

quence  was  a  clock.  The  death  of  my  friend 
above-mentioned  gave  me  an  opportunity  to 
purchase  a  small  bench  vice,  and  some  other 
tools,  of  his  widow.  I  made  myself  a  small 
lathe,  chiefly  of  wood,  and  several  other  tools, 
before  I  commenced  on  my  clock.  It  was 
in  the  examination  of  a  large  church  clock 
that  my  attention  was  first  drawn  to  the  sub- 
ject. The  wheels  being  large,  it  looked  more 
simple  than  a  common  clock.  The  principal 
difficulty  I  apprehended  was  in  the  motions 
necessary  for  the  hands,  where  some  of  the 
axes  pass  through  the  others.  The  materials 
to  which  I  had  access  were  not  very  suitable 
for  the  work;  however,  I  commenced  opera- 
tions. 

It  will  be  understood  that,  as  I  lived  so  far 
off,  my  meals  were  taken  in  the  shop — my 
mother  putting  what  was  necessary  for  me  to 
take  every  morning  into  a  small  basket.  This 
plan  gave  me  considerable  time  to  prepare 
those  parts  at  the  shop  that  I  could  not  do  so 
well  at  home.  My  master  never  expressed 
any  objection  to  my  amusing  myself  in  this 
way :  in  fact,  he  did  not  trouble  himself  about 
it.  I  prepared  two  plates  of  sheet  iron  for  the 
frame.  These  were  kept  at  a  suitable  distance 
apart  by  four  pieces  of  iron  wire,  which  were 
riveted  into  the  back  plate.  The  front  plate 


20  MEMOIR   OF   A   MECHANIC. 

was  movable.  These  plates  were  bushed  with 
brass,  wherever  it  was  necessary  for  the  pivots 
of  the  several  axes  to  pass  through  them. 
This,  in  point  of  utility,  was  as  well  as  though 
the  plates  had'  been  made  wholly  of  brass. 
The  wheels  were  of  sheet  brass,  cut  from  the 
bottoms  of  old  brass  kettles.  It  was  too  thin, 
but  it  was  the  best  I  could  get.  Having  pre- 
pared my  wheels,  and  fastened  them  on  pieces 
of  wire,  the  turning,  dividing  and  cutting  the 
teeth  were  performed  at  home. 

I  often  smile,  when  I  think  of  the  scene 
which  presented  itself,  when  I  first  began.  It 
was  winter  time  :  my  mother  was  sitting  on 
one  side  of  the  fire,  and  the  other  was  occu- 
pied by  some  other  members  of  the  family. 
As  it  was  very  cold,  that  part  of  the  table 
farthest  from  the  fire  was  vacant.  I  screwed 
my  vice  on  this  side,  and  pinched  my  lathe  in 
the  vice;  putting  my  axle,  with  the  wheel  on 
it,  between  the  dead  centres  of  the  lathe.  The 
motion  was  given  by  a  drill  bow,  the  string  of 
which  passed  round  a  whirl,  placed  tempora- 
rily on  the  axis.  This  bow  is  moved  by  the 
left  hand,  while  the  tool  is  held  firmly  in  the 
right.  In  this  manner,  the  wheels,  pinions 
and  pivots  were  all  turned.  The  dividing  was 
done  by  a  pair  of  small  spring  dividers:  and 
the  teeth  were  formed  with  a  file. 


APPRENTICESHIP.  21 

Parts  of  the  work  required  hammering.  This 
was  more  than  some  of  .the  family  could  en- 
dure ;  and  it  induced  them  to  furnish  me  with 
a  separate  light,  and  I  had  to  decamp.  I 
found  a  place  up  stairs,  screwed  my  vice  to 
the  banister  rail,  and,  with  a  piece  or  two  of 
hoard,  I  formed  a  bench;  and  1  was  now  fixed 
for  the  winter. 

The  following  summer.  I  fitted  up  a  much 
better  establishment  in  a  shed  in  the  yard, 
where  I  completed  my  task,  to  the  wonder- 
ment of  all  the  old  ladies  in  the  neighborhood, 
but  not  exactly  to  my  own  satisfaction  ;  al- 
though it  was  as  well  as  could  be  expected, 
taking  all  the  circumstances  into  view.  It 
kept  time  tolerably  well,  and  would  show  the 
hour  and  minute  on  the  front  dial.  It  had  an 
hour  hand  on  each  side:  I  had  never  seen 
this  before,  although  I  had  heard  of  it.  The 
weight  moved  only  thirteen  inches,  and  re- 
quired winding  up  once  in  about  four  days 
and  a  half. 

It  is  impossible  for  one  who  has  never  tried 
it,  to  conceive  what  pleasure  there  is  in  at- 
tempts of  this  kind,  especially  when  the  mind 
marks  out  tracks  that  have  never  been  trodden 
before.  Sometimes  months,  and  even  years 
must  elapse,  before  the  object  of  our  pursuit 
can  be  brought  to  an  issue,  during  which  time 


22  MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 

there  is  a  strong  belief  that  the  thing  can  be 
accomplished;  although  many  unforeseen  dif- 
ficulties occur,  which  set  us  to  thinking  still 
more  earnestly.  Now  and  then  a  faint  ray  of 
light  seems  to  point  out  the  course  we  must 
pursue:  by  and  by,  a  blaze,  as  it  were,  bursts 
upon  us ;  and  the  object  can  now  be  accom- 
plished with  ease.  This  brings  pleasure  some- 
what in  proportion  to  the  labor  spent  in 
searching  for  it ;  or  according  to  the  benefit 
likely  to  arise  to  mankind,  or  to  the  individual 
making  the  discovery;  modified,  of  course,  by 
the  disposition  of  the  person  engaged  in  the 
operation. 

Many  times  have  I  been  thus  bent  upon  the 
accomplishment  of  some  object  that  required 
great  attention,  which  I  found  was  more  easily 
done  in  the  night,  when  the  family  had  retired 
to  rest,  and  all  around  was  still.  At  such 
times,  sleep  would  be  banished  from  my  eyes; 
there  being  something  so  fascinating  in  my 
pursuit,  that  the  time  flew  unconsciously  by  ; 
and  I  retired  to  bed,  rather  to  prevent  the 
interference  of  others  than  for  the  sake  of  rest. 

Though  my  father,  as  I  have  already  men- 
tioned, could  neither  read  nor  write,  he  was 
very  fond  of  hearing  all  his  children  read: 
indeed,  he  made  it  a  practice  to  hear  us  read 
the  scriptures,  every  Sunday  after  dinner.  He 


APPRENTICESHIP.  23 

sometimes  had  letters  to  write,  most  of  which, 
during  my  apprenticeship,  fell  to  my  lot.  At 
first,  he  used  to  dictate  what  he  wished  to 
have  written ;  afterwards  he  only  gave  me  a 
general  idea  of  what  he  wanted,  and  left  the 
rest  to  my  discretion.  The  neighbors  would 
also  occasionally  get  me  to  write  for  them. 
This  gave  me  confidence;  so  that,  although  a 
bad  writer  to  this  day,  I  have  not  been  very 
diffident  in  committing  anything  with  which 
I  was  acquainted  to  paper. 

I  now  feel,  more  than  ever,  the  benefit  of 
thus  early  attempting  to  write  short  epistles, 
or  essays.  Having  some  acquaintance  with 
the  periodical  press,  I  know  the  difficulty  of 
getting  young  men,  not  only  among  mechanics, 
but  in  all  classes,  to  communicate  what  they 
know.  They  have  leisure  enough,  but  the 
task  is  too  hard,  because  they  have  never  been 
used  to  it. 

I  had  considerable  patience  with  anything 
that  I  undertook  willingly.  For  instance,  my 
father  borrowed  a  book  containing  two  ser- 
mons, a  prayer,  and  some  other  short  pieces. 
He  was  very  fond  of  it,  and  did  not  know 
how  to  get  a  copy.  I  offered  to  write  a  copy, 
if  he  would  find  the  paper.  This  occupied 
my  leisure  time  for  several  weeks ;  but  I  fin- 
ished it,  in  spite  of  the  jokes  of  my  compan- 


24  MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 

ions;  for  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  turn  me 
from  anything  I  had  set  my  mind  upon. 

I  had  some  taste  for  drawing;  but  found  it 
difficult  to  make  much  progress,  situated  as  I 
was.  Gaudy  pictures  were  much  more  easily 
made  than  correct  representations  :  however, 
by  perseverance,  and  having  a  better  chance 
as  I  grew  older,  I  succeeded  in  mechanical 
drawing  to  my  wishes;  and  also  tolerably 
well  in  the  ornamental  department. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  may  be  thought 
that  I  always  had  business  enough  on  hand 
to  keep  me  from  mischief.  I  have  sometimes, 
however,  engaged  in  the  excesses  common 
among  young  men  ;  but  soon  something  disa- 
greeable would  happen,  and  then  I  would  re- 
turn to  my  more  innocent,  as  well  as  more 
profitable  amusements.  I  used  to  be  glad 
when  a  holiday  occurred,  for  then  I  could  do 
more  than  in  many  evenings. 

Thus  passed  away  my  seven  years'  appren- 
ticeship. I  served  my  time  out  "duly  and 
truly,"  and  my  master  gave  me  ten  pounds 
with  my  indenture.  He  asked  me  what  I  was 
going  to  do.  I  told  him  I  was  going  to  Lon- 
don. "  Well,"  said  he,  shaking  my  hand, 
"  keep  your  right  hand  forward,  and  you  will 
do  well." 


f 


CHAPTER  III. 

RESIDENCE  IN  LONDON. 

- 

Manner  of  spending  lime.  The  industrious  find  enough  to 
do.  Experiments  on  perpetual  motion.  Ingenious  mouse- 
traps. Female  acquaintance.  New  friends.  Marriage. 

I  ARRIVED  in  London  in  April,  1810.  Here 
many  new  scenes  were  presented  to  my  view. 
In  such  a  place,  among  so  great  a  variety,  it 
is  difficult  to  confine  one's  self  to  what  is  most 
beneficial.  My  habits  were  fixed,  however, 
and  I  adhered  to  my  former  plans.  It  should 
be  understood  that  I  had  been  bred  up  in  a 
part  of  the  country  where  agriculture  is  the 
chief  employment  of  the  people;  that  I  had 
seen  very  little  of  manufacturing  or  of  ma- 
chinery ;  that,  in  fact,  I  had  never  seen  a 
steam-engine,  nor  heard  a  lecture  on  any 
branch  of  science,  nor  even  seen  *a  book  on 
any  subject  connected  with  the  arts  and  sci- 
ences, except  one  on  geography,  borrowed  for 
a  short  time. 

Such  was  my  situation,  when  I  visited  the 
metropolis.  I  obtained  work  immediately : 
3 


26  MEMOIR    OF    A   MECHANIC. 

and  I  may  here  observe  that,  to  this  day,  I 
have  never  been  without  regular  employment, 
except  when  I  have  been  travelling  for  my 
own  pleasure;  nor  even  then  but  for  short 
periods. 

It  was  nearly  two  years  before  I  adopted 
any  regular  system  of  passing  my  leisure  time, 
most  of  which  was  spent  in  visiting  places  of 
note,  or  objects  of  curiosity.  About  this  time, 
I  procured  a  good  lathe,  and  some  other  tools. 
Now,  also,  I  had  engaged  a  partner  for  life; 
and  having  a  home  where  I  could  amuse 
myself  in  my  own  way,  I  pursued  from  this 
time  a  regular  course  ;  sometimes  making  va- 
rious mechanical  contrivances,  while  at  others 
1  practised  drawing.  The  latter  is  a  very 
good  amusement  for  a  young  mechanic.  It 
helps  him  to  understand  what  he  reads,  as  the 
engravings  in  books  become  easy  to  his  com- 
prehension. It  also  habituates  him  to  nice 
observation,  assists  his  memory,  and  is  the 
cheapest  amusement  I  am  acquainted  with. 
It  makes  very  little  noise  or  dirt ;  and  by  hav- 
ing things  portable,  they  may  be  got  out  and 
packed  away  in  a  very  short  time.  Drawing 
is  more  or  less  useful  to  all;  and  is  essential 
to  the  successful  practice  of  some  trades. 

I  was  at  this  time  employed  in  a  large  ma- 
chine shop,  belonging  to  the  celebrated  John 


RESIDENCE    IN   LONDON.  27 

Braithwaite,  among  men  from  various  parts  of 
the  country.  In  such  a  place,  many  valuable 
ideas  may  be  picked  up;  but  great  care  is 
necessary,  for  there  are  so  many  erroneous 
notions  prevailing  among  workmen  generally, 
that  a  young  man  may  easily  be  led  astray. 
An  error  among  many  of  them  was  a  belief 
in  the  possibility  of  finding  out  the  perpetual 
motion,  or  of  constructing  a  self-moving  ma- 
chine. I  labored  for  some  time  under  this 
delusion,  and  spent  much  time  in  the  pursuit 
of  what  I  am  now  perfectly  satisfied  cannot 
be  accomplished. 

My  first  attempt  was,  to  make  the  descend- 
ing side  of  a  wheel  heavier  than  the  ascending 
side,  by  causing  movable  parts  to  approach 
and  recede  from  its  centre;  but  let  me  modify 
it  as  I  would,  there  were  always  a  greater 
number  of  these  movable  parts  on  the  ascend- 
ing side,  so  that,  though  they  were  made  to 
recede  further  from  the  centre  after  passing 
the  top,  they  were  fewer  in  number  on  the 
descending  side,  and  the  wheel  would  turn 
as  well  backwards  as  forwards.  Many  other 
methods  were  tried — some  of  them  with  fluids. 
A  syphon  was  made  with  the  short  leg  much 
larger  than  the  long  one,  that  it  might  contain 
a  greater  weight  of  water  and  over-balance 
that  in  the  long  leg ;  but  I  found  it  was  ne- 


28  MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 

cessary  that  the  discharging  end  should  be 
lower  than  the  surface  of  the  water  in  the 
vessel,  whatever  might  be  the  form  of  the 
syphon. 

I  can  hardly  tell  whether  the  following  whim 
of  mine  is  worth  relating : — A  young  man 
made  a  box  trap  for  catching  mice,  and  was 
showing  it  as  a  specimen  of  his  ingenuity. 
"Now,"  said  I,  "if  you  had  made  it  so  that 
after  the  mouse  was  caught,  he  would  set  the 
trap  ready  for  another,  and  then  go  and  drown 
himself,  it  would  have  been  worth  something." 
"  That  is  impossible,"  he  exclaimed  ;  "  that  is 
more  than  you  can  do."  I  told  him  I  would 
produce  one  in  a  fortnight's  time :  and  so  I 
did  ;  and  after  that  another,  more  simple  than 
the  first. 

These  mouse-traps  were  pronounced  to  be 
the  greatest  curiosities  in  my  collection,  which 
was  tolerably  large.  The  first  trap  consisted 
of  a  box,  open  at  one  end,  with  a  wire  grating 
at  the  other.  When  the  mouse  entered  the 
trap,  and  began  nibbling  the  cheese,  the  door 
at  which  he  entered  would  fall  down.  There 
was  a  hole  in  the  side  of  the  box,  on  pushing 
his  way  through  which,  he  raised  the  end  of  a 
lever,  which  started  some  clock-work  placed 
on  the  top  of  the  box,  by  which  the  trap  was 
set  again  ;  while  the  noise  of  the  wheels  would 


RESIDENCE   IN   LONDON.  29 

so  startle  the  little  fellow,  that  he  would  run 
up  inside  of  a  spiral  tube,  into  a  jar  of  water, 
before  he  was  aware  of  it.  In  the  second  trap, 
instead  of  clock-work,  it  was  so  contrived  that 
the  mouse  would  set  it  by  turning  a  hollow 
wheel,  like  a  squirrel  cage.  After  entering  the 
wheel,  he  must  either  work,  or  stop  there ;  but 
the  instant  the  trap  was  set,  a  little  door 
opened  on  one  side  of  the  wheel,  when  he 
would  escape  from  it,  to  be  let  down  by  a 
trap-door  into  the  water. 

The  first  time  I  saw  my  destined  wife,  she 
was  taking  a  walk  in  company  with  another 
female,  a  neighbor's  daughter,  who  attracted 
my  attention.  I  introduced  myself  to  the  latter, 
who  was  the  taller  of  the  two,  and  whose 
features  were  rather  striking,  at  first  sight. 
After  a  little  conversation,  we  took  some  trifling 
refreshment  together,  which  is  a  common  thing 
at  the  various  tea-gardens  in  the  suburbs  of 
London,  during  the  summer  season,  with  both 
young  and  old,  among  the  middling  classes  of 
society.  I  then  escorted  the  ladies  nearly 
home  ;  and  we  agreed  to  meet  again  the  next 
Sunday  afternoon. 

The  few  minutes  we  had  spent  over  our 
refreshment  were  sufficient  for  me  to  discover 
a  vast  difference  in  the  manners,  as  well  as 


30  MEMOIR    OF   A    MECHANIC. 

the  circumstances  of  the  two  females.  The 
taller  one  was  continually  calling  the  other 
"Miss  Hannah;"  and  not  having  much  else 
to  talk  about,  she  began  upon  home  affairs, 
such  as,  "  My  mother  is  coming  to  your  house, 
Miss  Hannah,  to-morrow  morning  early,  to 
wash;"  "My  father  has  not  much  work  to 
do,"  <fcc.  In  short,  enough  was  said  to  give 
me  an  insight  into  the  relative  condition  of 
the  two  families ;  that  the  family  of  the  tall 
one  was  supported,  in  part,  by  the  family  of 
the  other,  and  that  Miss  Hannah,  being  of  an 
affable  and  sprightly  turn,  was  allowed  the 
indulgence  of  going  out  occasionally  with  the 
other,  but  was  plainly  dressed,  to  avoid  attrac- 
tion. 

Here,  I  thought,  was  a  chance  of  being 
connected  with  a  respectable  family.  Our 
weekly  meetings  were  continued  for  about 
two  months,  when  I  thought  it  high  time  to 
see  how  the  parents  felt  about  the  matter; 
although  I  was  not  entirely  in  the  dark  about 
it,  as  I  understood  that  a  favorable  impression 
had  been  made  in  the  right  quarter;  but  still, 
the  lady  hesitated  about  introducing  me  at 
home.  Things  had  now  been  carried  as  far 
as  was  prudent,  before  advising  with  her  pa- 
rents ;  and  I,  to  cut  the  matter  short,  wrote  a 
letter  to  the  lady's  father,  telling  him  how 


RESIDENCE    IN   LONDON.  31 

long  I  had  been  acquainted  with  his  daughter, 
who  I  was,  and  what  were  my  intentions  ; 
observing  that  the  acquaintance  had  better 
proceed  no  farther,  unless  it  met  with  his 
approbation.  After  a  few  days  I  received  the 
following  answer: 

"  SIR  :— Your  letter  of  Wednesday  evening 
I  have  read  over  to  my  wife  and  daughter 
Hannah.  All  of  us  are  well  pleased  with  your 
candid  proposal  of  becoming  allied  to  our 
family.  If  you  please  to  call  on  me  at  113 
Bunhill  Row,  on  Sunday  next,  at  eleven  or 
half  past  eleven  o'clock,  I  shall  be  glad  to  see 
you,  and  have  leisure  for  nearer  conversation. 
Generally,  we  dine  about  two  o'clock,  when 
your  partaking  of  our  family  fare  without 
ceremony,  will  oblige  us.'' 

I  waited  on  the  good  gentleman  at  the  ap- 
pointed time,  and  spent  a  very  agreeable  day 
with  the  family,  which  was  large  and  quite 
interesting.  That  there  should  be  no  mistake 
about  my  being  welcome  at  the  house,  the  father 
sent  me,  a  few  days  after,  the  following  note : 

"Sm: — If  you  can  make  it  agreeable  to  your- 
self, and  take  a  bit  of  dinner  wilh  us  to-mor- 
row, by  two  o'clock,  we  shall  be  glad  to  see 
you.  Come  as  early  as  you  can  make  it  con- 
venient." 


32  MEMOIR   OF   A    MECHANIC. 

From  this  time  I  had  a  general  invitation  j 
and  there  was  only  one  difficulty  in  my  way, 
which  I  luckily  escaped ;  although  many  a 
one  has  found  it  unfortunate  to  have  been 
placed  in  a  similar  situation.  I  allude  to  a 
young  man's  being  suddenly  introduced  among 
a  number  of  females,  all  possessing  charms  of 
various  kinds,  so  bewitching  that  it  requires 
some  resolution  to  keep  the  affections  from 
wandering.  But  as  I  never  delighted  in 
wounding  the  feelings  of  any  one,  it  seemed 
impossible  for  me  to  do  so  to  a  confiding 
female,  who  was  in  every  respect  worthy  of 
my  tender  regards.  As  my  plans  were  upon  a 
moderate  scale,  it  did  not  take  long  to  mature 
them ;  for  we  were  married  in  four  or  five 
months  from  our  first  meeting;  and  by  mutual 
endeavors  to  please,  as  well  as  by  mutual  for- 
bearance, we  have  lived  together  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a.  century,  with  much  less  jarring 
than  is  generally  experienced :  and  yet  we 
have  had  some  trials,  having  lived  under  three 
different  governments,  and  travelled  about  ten 
thousand  miles  together. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SCIENTIFIC  IMPROVEMENT. 

A  new  field   of  thought.     Scientific   lectures  and  studies. 
Formation  of  the  Mechanical  Institution.     Its  history. 

• 

I  HAVE  now  arrived  at  what  I  consider  the 
most  important  period  of  my  life.  Up  to  this 
time,  I  had  had  no  instruction,  a-fter  leaving 
school,  but  what  I  could  get  in  a  very  uncer- 
tain and  precarious  manner;  when,  being  just 
turned  of  twenty-five  years  of  age,  I  hap- 
pened to  see  a  notice  of  a  course  of  Lectures 
on  Natural  Philosophy  and  Chemistry,  by  Mr. 
Tat  urn.  The  very  names  of  the  subjects  to  be 
treated  on,  such  as  Pneumatics,  Hydrodynam- 
ics, Aerostation,  &c.,  were  all  Latin  to  me. 
On  farther  examination,  however,  I  found  un- 
der the  various  heads,  some  account  of  the 
experiments  illustrative  of  steam-engines,  and 
other  things  that  I  wished  to  be  acquainted 
with.  I  bought  a  ticket ;  and  was  so  pleased, 
the  first  time,  that  I  took  notes  of  the  lecture, 
and  some  sketches  of  the  apparatus,  (for  I  was 


34  MEMOIR    OF    A    MECHANIC. 

seldom  without  my  pocket  book  and  pencil.) 
On  returning  home,  1  sat  up  very  late,  to  write 
out  all  that  1  could  remember  of  the  lecture. 
I  continued  to  attend  these  lectures  weekly, 
from  October,  18J5,  to  the  April  following, 
taking  notes  of  all  that  was  important  to  me. 

The  following  summer,  I  procured  a  book 
on  Natural  Philosophy,  which  contained  an 
account  of  the  various  things  I  had  seen  in 
the  lectures.  I  also  made  many  articles  with 
which  I  tried  experiments;  and  1  succeeded 
so  well  as  to  be  induced  to  attend  a  second 
course  of  these  lectures,  besides  several  others, 
given  by  different  persons. 

At  length,  I  applied  for  membership  to  a 
philosophical  society;  but  not  having  friends 
enough  at  court,  I  was  not  received.  This 
did  not  turn  me  aside  from  my  pursuit,  but 
stimulated  me  to  use  all  my  efforts  to  improve 
the  class  to  which  I  belonged.  ]\o — it  made 
me  redouble  my  exertions.  I  reasoned  thus: 
1  am  a  mechanic;  that  is  the  difficulty.  Well : 
suppose  the  mechanics  should  be  invited  to 
form  themselves  into  a  society  for  mutual  im- 
provement. This  was  suggested  to  a  few 
persons;  and  with  their  approbation,  I  got  a 
circular  printed,  and  distributed  it,  inviting 
those  who  felt  the  want  of  information  to  come 
forward.  A  society  was  formed,  with  the  title 


SCIENTIFIC    IMPROVEMENT.  35 

of  "The  Mechanical  Institution,"  which  lasted 
about  three  years,  and  then  dwindled  away, 
leaving  the  few  persons  who  began  it  in  pos- 
session of  what  books  and  apparatus  had  been 
procured  for  its  use. 

The  first  movements  in  this  affair  were 
made  in  1816,  but  the  society  was  not  organ- 
ized till  August,  1817.  I  performed  the  duty 
of  secretary  to  this  society  the  whole  of  the 
three  years  it  was  in  being.  The  meetings 
were  held  weekly,  first  in  Brooks'  Market, 
then  at  the  Three  Compasses,  in  High  Hoi- 
born,  and  lastly  at  my  house  in  Little  Sutton 
Street,  Clerkenwell.  The  exercises  consisted 
of  lectures  and  discussions  on  subjects  relating 
to  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  sometimes  social 
conversations  on  various  subjects. 

Not  having  a  library  of  our  own,  we  sub- 
scribed two  guineas  per  annum  to  Honae's 
celebrated  library,  which  allowed  us  about 
twenty  volumes  daily,  but  which  was  after- 
wards reduced  to  four  volumes,  for  the  use  of 
those  members  who  were  engaged  in  the  pre- 
paration of  lectures. 

The  Rules,  &c.  of  the  Mechanical  Institution 
were  printed  in  a  pamphlet  form  A  notice 
of  it  is  given  in  the  London  Mechanics  Maga- 
zine ;  and  it  is  thereby  kept  from  oblivion,  as 
it  ought  to  be — for  I  am  sure  the  efforts  of 


36  MEMOIR    OF   A    MECHANIC. 

several  of  the  members  deserved  better  success. 
But  it  was  hardly  possible  to  enlist  persons  of 
talent  and  leisure  to  assist  us,  although  invita- 
tions were  given  to  such,  in  a  printed  circular. 
I  am  of  opinion  that  the  decline  and  extinction 
of  the  society  were  owing  principally  to  a  want 
of  taste  and  experience  in  these  matters.1* 

It  is  astonishing,  though  true,  that  the  great 
mass  of  mechanics  do  not  appreciate  knowl- 
edge as  they  ought.  They  do  not  go  forward 
themselves,  and  can  hardly  be  persuaded  to 
partake  of  the  repast  it  offers,  after  everything 
is  prepared  for  them ;  so  that  it  becomes  those 
who  have  drank  at  the  fountain  of  knowledge, 
and  know  its  efficacy,  to  go  forward  and  do 
all  they  can  for  its  general  diffusion ;  for  there 
is  nothing  that  we  could  do  that  would  have 
so  great  a  tendency  to  alleviate  the  miseries 
which  are  felt  by  the  great  bulk  of  mankind. 


*  The  notice  of  this  society  in  the  London  Mechanics' 
Magazine,  referred  to  on  the  preceding  page,  with  some 
other  things  relating  to  it,  will  be  found  among  the  Miscel- 
laneous Papers. 


CHAPTER  V. 


RESIDENCE  IN  RUSSIA. 

Arrival  at  St.  Petersburg.  Description  of  the  building  in 
which  the  writer  was  employed.  Difficulties.  Their 
settlement.  Recommendation.  An  accident.  A  threat- 
ened explosion.  More  scared  than  hurt. 

IN  June,  1820,  I  left  London  for  St.  Peters- 
burg, in  Russia;  at  which  place  I  arrived  after 
a  passage  of  eighteen  days.  We  left  the  ship 
at  Cronstadt,  and  proceeded  to  St.  Petersburg 
in  a  steamboat.  It  was  about  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening  when  we  came  in  sight  of  the 
city.  The  sun,  of  course,  was  low,  and  his 
rays  had  a  fine  effect  on  the  bright  steeples 
and  splendid  domes  of  the  public  buildings, 
all  shining  with  metallic  lustre,  so  that,  during 
a  sail  of  five  or  six  miles,  we  had  as  grand  a 
sight  as  I  ever  witnessed.  It  was  light  enough 
to  see  to  do  ordinary  work  out  of  doors  all 
night,  for  several  weeks  after  I  arrived. 

I  was  sent  out  with  apparatus  for  the  pro- 
duction of  oil  gas,  for  the  purpose  of  illumina- 


«50  MEMOIR    OF    A   MECHANIC. 

tion.  The  building  in  which  I  was  engaged 
in  putting  up  the  gas  works  was  one  in  which 
the  business  of  the  Russian  army  was  trans- 
acted. It  was  built  in  the  form  of  a  crescent, 
having  a  large  arch  in  the  centre,  and  was 
situated  opposite  the  Imperial  Palace.  The 
area  between  these  two  buildings  was  used  as  a 
parade  ground  for  the  soldiers  every  morning. 

In  this  building  were  several  departments, 
with  a  general  at  the  head  of  each,  some  of 
whom  were  employed  over  several  hundred 
clerks.  The  library  was  very  extensive.  "VVe 
put  up  a  splendid  chandelier  in  the  centre  of 
the  room  appropriated  to  it,  which  cost  four 
hundred  pounds  sterling  in  England.  It  had 
three  hundred  and  sixty  jets  of  gas,  issuing 
from  a  circle  of  brass  seven  feet  in  diameter, 
above  which  were  four  eagles,  lit  with  gas. 
There  was  also  a  great  quantity  of  richly  cut 
glass  about  it.  In  this  building  I  saw  litho- 
graphic printing  for  the  first  time  :  copperplate 
and  letter-press  printing  were  also  carried  on 
here  ;  and  a  very  extensive  establishment  for 
the  manufacture  of  mathematical  instruments; 
— all  belonging  to  the  government :  likewise  a 
drawing  school,  consisting  of  about  two  hun- 
dred young  officers. 

One  ingredient  in  my  constitution — the  dis- 
position to  resist  imposition  and  coercion — was 


RESIDENCE    IN    RUSSIA.  39 

called  into  action  more  by  the  treatment  of  the 
agent  under  whom  I  was  employed,  during 
the  two  first  years  of  my  residence  here,  than 
in  all  my  life. besides.  He  attempted  to  prac- 
tise both  imposition  and  coercion  upon  those  in 
his  employ — under  specious  pretensions,  but 
so  shallow  as  to  be  easily  detected.  He  tried 
his  various  schemes  upon  the  men  with  such 
impudence  as  to  lose  the  confidence  of  them 
all ;  and  the  concern  had  to  pay  much  more 
for  his  meanness  and  tampering  with  the  tem- 
pers of  the  men,  than  they  would  have  done 
had  his  conduct  been  liberal.  But  he  was  a 
mere  merchant,  and  not  fit  for  such  an  under- 
taking— which  was  indeed  a  difficult  one.  In 
fact,  he  was  a  man  of  no  talent,  except  for  a 
close  bargain. 

Two  men  died  the  first  winter,  and  I  was 
sick  several  weeks  with  a  nervous  fever.  The 
first  foreman  only  stopped  one  year,  and  two 
other  men  were  sent  home  soon  afterwards.  I 
managed,  however,  to  get  through  with  the 
government  job,  and  then  requested  my  dis- 
charge— offering  to  pay  my  own  passage  back, 
and  to  wait  until  the  agent  procured  another 
man  in  my  place  :  but  no  ;  I  was  too  steady  a 
man  for  that,  and  he  would  riot  let  me  go.  I 
knew  he  could  give  me  some  trouble,  as  1  had 
agreed  for  three  years,  as  all  the  others  had 


40  MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 

done.  They,  however,  quarrelled  with  him, 
and  got  away  so.  I  would  not  descend  to 
that,  but  wrote  him  a  letter  on  the  subject, 
which  he  thought  proper  not  to  answer ;  and 
this  is  what  gave  me  offence.  No  doubt  he 
was  consoling  himself  with  the  idea  that  he 
could  oblige  me  to  fulfil,  to  the  very  letter,  a 
contract,  the  spirit  of  which  he  never  regarded  ; 
and  it  was  suspected  that  he  presumed  too 
much  upon  his  influence  with  the  government, 
and  the  value  of  bribes  to  the  petty  officers  : 
but  be  this  as  it  may,  he  had  reason  to  repent 
of  his  folly  in  the  end. 

I  kept  at  work  until  the  time  I  had  stated  I 
wished  to  leave,  when  I  was  advertised  in  the 
Gazette,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  place: 
and,  at  the  proper  time,  I  applied  at  the  dis- 
trict office  for  a  certificate.  I  found  a  letter 
there  from  the  agent,  containing  statements 
which  were  for  the  most  part  incorrect,  but 
sufficient  to  prevent  my  getting  a  passport. 
My  mind  was  then  wound  up  to  the  sticking 
point.  I  employed  an  attorney,  and  petitioned 
the  governor,  Count  Miloradowitch,  who  insti- 
tuted an  investigation  ;  but  things  went  on  so 
tardily,  that  I  petitioned  him  a  second  time, 
and  obtained  my  passport,  after  thirteen  weeks' 
delay.  By  that  time,  however,  the  winter  was 
setting  in,  and  it  was  a  bad  time  to  leave. 


RESIDENCE    IN   RUSSIA.  41 

Just  before  this  time,  a  new  agent  had  heen 
appointed.  I  engaged  with  him  for  the  winter, 
recovered  the  wages  for  my  lost  time,  amount- 
ing to  nine  hundred  and  thirty-six  roubles,- 
and  brought  away  a  good  recommendation, 
signed  in  behalf  of  the  proprietors,  by  the  last 
agent. 

The  following  incidents,  which  befell  me 
during  my  residence  in  Russia,  may  be  ap- 
propriately related  here.  I  have  had  many 
small  accidents,  but  not  many  very  serious 
ones.  By  being  careful,  I  have  avoided  many ; 
and  by  acting  adroitly  when  an  accident  has 
actually  happened,  the  consequences  have  been 
less  serious. 

I  once  escaped  unhurt  by  a  sudden  and 
curious  motion  of  the  body,  when  in  great 
danger  of  serious  injury.  This  was  at  the 
gas  works.  A  quantity  of  oil  was  let  into  a 
red  hot  retort,  by  mistake.  The  retort  was 
open,  and  I  stood  directly  in  front  of  it,  and 
not  more  than  three  feet  off.  The  oil  was 
instantly  set  on  fire,  and  a  dense  volume  of 
flame  rushed  forth  towards  me,  and  passing 
upwards,  would  have  struck  me  in  the  face, 
had  I  not  leaned  backwards  so  as  nearly  to 
fall,  before  I  dared  to  move  a  foot.  If  I  had 
moved  my  foot  first,  the  consequences  would 
no  doubt  have  been  dreadful. 
4 


42  MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 

On  another  occasion,  at  the  same  place,  I 
had  a  severe  trial,  which  kept  me  and  many 
more  in  suspense  for  about  an  hour. 

The  gasometer  was  placed  in  a  room  ad- 
joining the  one  where  the  retorts  and  furnaces 
were;  and  the  partition  wall  became  much 
heated,  one  day,  by  burning  wood,  as  we 
were  out  of  coal  at  the  time.  The  tank  which 
held  the  water  for  the  gasometer  was  made  of 
plank,  and  lined  with  lead.  It  was  about  ten 
feet  deep,  and  placed  within  six  inches  of  this 
party-wall.  The  heated  part  of  the  wall  was 
about  seven  feet  down  the  tank,  the  wood- 
work of  which  was  set  on  fire  by  the  hot  wall. 
The  fire  was  not  discovered  until  dusk  in  the 
evening,  when  the  men  went  into  the  gasome- 
ter room  to  put  on  the  pressure,  previous  to 
lighting  up.  The  room  was  then  found  to  be 
filled  with  smoke ;  an  alarm  was  immediately 
given,  and  great  confusion  prevailed  for  some 
time. 

The  general,  who  had  charge  of  the  build- 
ing, on  hearing  of  the  accident,  ordered  the 
whole  concern  to  be  pulled  down  by  the  sol- 
diers ;  and  they  went  to  work,  without  any 
judgment  at  all, — when  our  foreman,  a  spirited 
little  fellow,  and  myself,  exerted  ourselves  to 
the  utmost,  to  stop  the  mad  proceedings  of  the 
Russians,  and  to  put  out  the  fire.  Our  first 


RESIDENCE    IN   RUSSIA.  43 

move  was  to  shut  down  the  dampers,  and  to 
draw  all  the  fire  from  under  the  retorts;  and 
then  to  proceed  to  the  gasometer  room,  where 
we  found  the  men  breaking  the  sky-lights, 
and  endeavoring  to  remove  the  roof  of  the 
building — and  some  of  them  were  actually  on 
the  top  of  the  gasometer.  We  ordered  them 
off,  and  told  the  men  to  stop  breaking  the 
windows,  &c.  The  smoke  had  now  cleared 
away ;  and  the  water  remaining  at  its  usual 
height  in  the  tank,  we  concluded  that  the  lead 
lining  was  not  yet  melted. 

At  this  time,  a  fat  major  came  to  the  spot, 
quite  out  of  breath,  and  called  for  me.  He 
asked  me,  in  Russ,  if  there  was  danger;  when 
I  assured  him  there  was  not,  and  that  I  only 
wanted  half  a  dozen  men,  a  crow-bar  and  a 
rope.  Planks  were  nailed  on  the  top  of  the 
tank,  to  cover  up  the  opening;  forming  a  platT 
form  just  wide  enough  for  a  man  to  walk  on, 
between  the  gasometer  and  the  wall.  Before 
we  could  know  the  extent  of  the  fire,  it  was 
necessary  to  raise  one  of  these  planks,  which 
was  done  by  me  with  a  crow-bar,  to  a  distance 
sufficient  to  get  a  rope  round  the  end  of  it ; 
and  then  the  soldiers  could  use  their  strength 
to  some  advantage.  Water  was  thrown  down, 
and  we  found  the  damage  but  trifling.  The 
pressure  of  the  gasometer  was  then  regulated, 


44  MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 

and  the  house  lit  up  as  usual,  after  an  hour 
of  bustle. 

We  then  went  home  to  supper ;  and  I  was 
amused  with  the  accounts  our  gas  fitter  gave. 
It  was  his  duty  to  light  up  the  chandeliers, 
&c.  He  was  running  about  all  the  time,  trying 
to  keep  the  lights  burning;  but  the  agitations 
of  the  gasometer,  caused  by  the  confusion, 
made  the  supply  of  gas  very  irregular,  and  the 
lights  would  frequently  go  out.  As  he  did  not 
know  the  extent  of  the  danger,  he  was  stop- 
ping every  now  and  then  to  hear  the  gasometer 
blow  up. 

Our  agent  took  good  care  to  keep  far  enough 
off;  and  he  kept  the  interpreter  with  him,  so 
that  we  had  to  interpret  for  ourselves;  but 
they  were  both  frightened. 

The  flue  of  the  furnace  was  afterwards 
turned  another  way,  and  all  went  on  well. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  ARTS   IN   RUSSIA. 

Russian  workmen.  Public  buildings.  Carpenters.  Masons. 
Useful  contrivances.  Carriages  and  horses.  Academy  of 
Arts.  The  Emperor's  Hermitage.  The  Summer  Palace. 

MY  leisure  time  was  spent,  while  residing  at 
St.  Petersburg,  in  studying  the  Russian  lan- 
guage, drawing,  and  mechanical  amusements, 
in  winter  time;  and  in  summer,  in  visiting 
places  of  note,  and  observing  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  inhabitants,  i  remained  three 
years  in  the  city,  and  could  say  much  about 
the  place  and  the  people ;  but  must  confine 
myself  chiefly  to  things  concerning  mechanics 
and  the  mechanic  arts. 

Generally  .speaking,  the  Russian  workmen 
do  very  well.  As  there  has  been  great  en- 
couragement given  to  strangers,  many  have 
settled  among  them,  who  have  improved  their 
manners.  Their  manufactories  of  iron,  and  of 
goods  from  flax  and  hemp,  have  long  been 
celebrated.  They  have  also  carried  the  manu- 


46  MEMOIR    OF    A    MECHANIC. 

facture  of  paper,  cotton,  silk  and  glass  to  con- 
siderable perfection. 

Granite  is  much  used  in  their  public  works, 
for  foundations  of  buildings,  for  lining  the 
canals  and  rivers,  and  for  side-walks.  Some 
of  the  columns  made  of  granite  are  very  large, 
and  highly  polished.  I  took  the  pains  to  mea- 
sure one  of  the  columns  intended  for  a  new 
church,  and  found  it  fifty-six  feet  long,  and 
six  feet  six  inches  in  diameter  at  the  base. 
They  were  brought  from  Finland :  two  of 
them  were  a  load  for  a  ship,  one  being  placed 
on  each  side  of  the  masts,  that  they  might 
balance  each  other.  They  were  rolled  from 
the  deck  to  the  vicinity  of  the  intended  build- 
ing, on  timbers  nine  inches  square,  placed  but 
little  distance  apart,  which  were  completely 
crushed  to  splinters.  The  rolling  was  per- 
formed by  two  ropes ;  one  end  of  each  being 
made  fast,  some  distance  ahead,  to  stakes 
driven  into  the  ground.  They  were  passed 
under  the  column,  up  the  back  side,  and  over 
the  top.  The  other  end  of  each  rope  was 
wound  upon  a  separate  capstan.  Each  capstan 
had  four  long  levers,  with  from  ten  to  twenty 
men  at  each  lever.  These  columns  were 
placed  in  a  temporary  building  for  polishing. 

I  visited  the  foundry  where  the  bases  and 
capitals  were  made.  They  were  of  brass, 


THE    ARTS    IN    RUSSIA.  47 

highly  polished  and  gilt ;  and  of  the  Corinthian 
order.  The  square  plinth  for  the  hottom  was 
about  nine  feet  on  each  side,  and  one  foot 
thick.  Several  women  and  children  were  pol- 
ishing these  with  pumice-stone.  The  torus,  a 
round  head  belonging  to  the  base,  was  turning 
in  a  lathe.  The  man  had  a  very  strong  tool 
for  this  purpose.  A  steam-engine,  with  a  man 
to  attend  it,  was  employed  entirely  on  the 
work.  The  capitals,  with  their  leaves  and 
volutes,  had  a  splendid  appearance. 

It  is  astonishing  to  see  the  variety  of  work  a 
Russian  carpenter  will  do  with  his  a^e  only. 
It  answers  for  the  saw,  hammer,  rabbit  plane, 
shave,  and  in  some  cases,  for  the  chisel.  At 
his  meals,  he  cuts  his  black  bread  with  it. 
The  fore  plane  which  they  use  has  four  han- 
dles :  and  it  takes  two  men  to  work  with  it. 
They  sit  on  a  pile  of  boards,  planing  that 
which  is  uppermost ;  one  man  pushing,  while 
the  other  is  pulling  the  plane.  The  joiner 
uses  a  saw  in  a  frame,  somewhat  like  those 
used  by  the  wood-sawyers  in  Boston. 

The  masons  build  their  walls  very  thick. 
Their  stages  are  ascended  by  inclined  planes, 
instead  of  ladders,  so  broad  that  one  might 
drive  a  carriage  up  them  with  ease.  The 
mortar  is  carried  by  two  men  on  a  kind  of 
hand-barrow.  They  walk  up  these  gentle 


48 


MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 


slopes  very  leisurely.  The  bricks  are  carried 
by  one  man.  He  takes  a  piece  of  board  two 
feet  long,  with  four  projecting  pins  or  arms, 
two  of  which  rest  on  his  shoulders,  while  the 
board  hangs  down  his  back;  the  other  two 
pins  being  for  the  bricks  to  rest  upon.  In 
this  way,  he  carries  about  sixteen  bricks  at  a 
time. 

Lord  Bacon  observes,  that  when  we  travel 
into  foreign  countries,  we  should  not  adopt 
every  new  thing  we  see,  but  now  and  then 
prick  in  a  flower.  Following  his  advice,  I 
will  here  describe  three  things  which  appear 
to  be  useful,  and  peculiar  to  this  place.  At 
least,  I  have  not  seen  them  anywhere  else. 

Fig.  1.  Fig.  2.  Fig.  3. 


Fig.  1  represents  a  contrivance  for  shutting 
doors.  The  power  is  applied  in  the  same  way 
as  in  our  modern  iron  printing  presses.  There 
is  a  pin  at  each  end  of  the  apparatus.  One  pin 
is  fitted  to  and  turns  in  a  socket  attached  to  the 


THE   ARTS    IN    RUSSIA.  49 

frame,  and  the  other  is  fitted  to  a  similar  one 
in  the  door.  In  opening  the  door,  the  pins  are 
brought  nearer  together,  and  the  weight  in  the 
centre  is  raised.  The  door  is  shut  by  this 
weight  straightening  the  bars,  and  spreading 
the  pins  farther  apart.  Some  of  these  articles 
are  made  of  iron,  and  are  black  ;  others  are  of 
brass,  and  kept  bright.  They  are  extensively 
used. 

Fig.  2  is  a  cistern  for  water,  with  a  valve  in 
the  bottom,  which  is  much  used  for  washing 
the  face  and  hands.  By  raising  the  valve,  the 
water  is  let  down  in  small  quantities,  and  as  it 
is  used,  passes  off  by  means  of  a  sink  placed 
underneath.  The  advantages  of  this  method 
are,  that  persons  do  not  wash  in  the  same 
water  with  others,  nor  use  it  more  than  once 
themselves;  which  is  not  only  more  conducive 
to  health,  but  makes  less  water  necessary  than 
washing  in  a  common  bowl.  These  cisterns 
are  made  of  various  forms  and  sizes.  Some  of 
them  have  a  dozen  or  more  pipes,  each  fur- 
nished with  a  valve,  so  that  many  persons 
may  wash  at  the  same  time.  The  large  ones 
are  made  in  a  circular  form,  and  placed  in  the 
middle  of  the  room;  but  the  small  ones  are 
hung  against  the  wall. 

In  Fig.  3  is  represented  a  spring  bow,  or 
arch.  This  is  used  with  the  horse-collar,  for 


50  MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 

the  horse  that  is  placed  in  the  shafts.  Other 
horses  do  not  wear  them.  It  was  a  long  time 
before  I  could  see  any  other  use  for  this  con- 
trivance, than  to  cause  the  horse  to  hold  up  his 
head,  and  to  keep  him  from  stumbling,  by  the 
bridle  being  hooked  to  the  top  of  the  arch.  I 
was  informed  afterwards,  by  an  intelligent 
man,  that  the  spring  being  connected  with  the 
collar,  prevented  the  shoulders  of  the  animal 
from  chafing,  by  continually  easing  the  collar 
off,  and  suffering  the  air  to  pass  between  that 
and  the  shoulder  of  the  horse. 

The  drosky  is  the  most  common  kind  of 
carriage  used  here,  (like  the  hackney  coaches 
in  London.)  It  is  used  with  only  one  horse, 
and  there  is  only  room  for  two  to  ride,  besides 
the  driver.  The  drivers  have  tickets  about 
their  necks,  numbered  and  dated.  There  are 
likewise  a  great  number  of  droskies  belonging 
to  private  persons.  Some  of  them  are  very 
expensive ;  and  they  generally  have  two  horses 
abreast.  One  of  them,  however,  seems  more 
for  ornament  than  for  use — being  obliged  to 
carry  his  head  so  far  from  his  companion  in 
the  shafts,  that  he  appears  to  be  in  misery,  and 
is  obliged  to  go  nearly  sideways. 

Small  Arabian  horses  are  those  most  gener- 
ally used ;  and  they  are  prohibited  from  being 
exported.  Those  in  the  meanest  service  are 


THE   ARTS   IN   RUSSIA.  51 

in  very  good  order,  and  full  of  spirit — spring- 
ing forward  at  the  voice  of  the  driver,  who 
carries  neither  whip  nor  stick. 

A  better  kind  of  carriage,  called  a  kallashka, 
is  drawn  by  four  horses,  in  imitation  of'English 
carriages.  It  is  used  by  the  gentry  for  long 
journeys,  and  is  sometimes  driven  about  town. 
Very  often  they  have  four  horses  abreast  be- 
hind, and  two  before ;  and  sometimes  more 
than  that.  I  have  seen  eight  horses  abreast 
attached  to  one  of  the  Emperor's  carriages,  in 
imitation  of  the  ancient  Roman  chariot. 

The  Academy  of  Arts  is  open  to  the  public 
once  in  three  years.  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
spending  several  hours  in  examining  some  of 
the  specimens  of  painting,  sculpture,  &c.,  in 
the  rooms  and  corridors ;  but  they  were  so 
numerous  as  to  require  months,  instead  of 
hours,  to  examine  them  properly.  The  corri- 
dors alone  are  said  to  extend  more  than  a  mile 
in  length.  Although  this  building  is  devoted 
chiefly  to  the  fine  arts,  there  are  many  speci- 
mens of  mechanical  skill.  I  noticed  a  model 
of  the  machine  on  which  a  large  block  of 
granite,  weighing  upwards  of  nine  hundred 
tons,  was  removed  several  miles.  Peter  the 
Great  is  said  to  have  stood  on  this  rock,  giving 
commands  to  his  army,  when  he  subdued  the 
Fins.  The  Empress  Catharine  ordered  it  to 


52  MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 

he  removed  to  the  city,  for  a  foundation,  on 
which  is  placed  a  statue  of  that  monarch  on 
horseback.  Many  ineffectual  attempts  were 
made  at  its  removal;  but  it  was  easily  per- 
formed afterwards,  by  introducing  cannon  balls 
for  rollers  between  bars  of  iron. 

The  most  splendid  specimens  of  art  that  I 
remember  to  have  seen,  were  in  the  Emperor's 
Hermitage,  which  is  attached  to  the  Imperial 
Palace,  forming  a  place  of  retreat  from  the 
busy  scenes  of  the  court.  In  this  building 
are  many  splendid  rooms,  the  walls  of  which 
are  hung  with  the  most  costly  paintings,  by 
the  first  artists  of  every  country,  that  could  be 
procured  by  money  or  otherwise.  There  are 
also  several  delicate  specimens  of  sculpture, 
and  models  of  architecture,  with  a  variety  of 
curious  articles  made  of  gold,  silver  and  ivory: 
in  fact,  nearly  every  variety  of  material  is  here 
found  fashioned  into  something  either  useful 
or  amusing. 

The  splendid  jewels  belonging  to  the  Empe- 
ror are  also  kept  here,  and  a  great  variety  of 
gold  and  silver  coins  and  medals.  Some  of 
these  are  very  ancient.  There  is  also  a  cabi- 
net of  minerals,  and  a  collection  of  rare  books. 
One  work  appeared  to  consist  of  about  eighty 
thick  folio  volumes,  and  to  be  placed  there 
more  for  show  than  anything  else. 


THE    ARTS    IN    RUSSIA.  53 

These  rooms  form  a  square  ;  and  in  the  in- 
terior is  the  winter  garden,  kept  warm  and 
comfortable.  There,  let  it  be  ever  so  cold  and 
dreary  without,  are  to  be  found  thriving  plants 
and  singing  birds.  Directly  over  this  is  the 
summer  garden,  on  the  top  of  the  building. 
To  complete  the  variety,  there  is  a  small  thea- 
tre, with  seats  in  a  circular  form,  which  I 
thought  would  be  a  good  model  for  a  lecture 
room. 

Among  the  specimens  of  the  mechanic  arts, 
were  two  large  vessels,  seven  feet  in  diameter — 
one  of  richly  cut  glass,  very  massive,  and  the 
other  of  jasper,  and  about  the  same  size  and 
pattern.  They  were  wrought  in  the  country, 
and-  presented  to  the  Emperor,  as  rare  speci- 
mens of  skill. 

There  are  other  palaces  in  St.  Petersburg, 
and  several  in  the  country,  within  thirty  miles 
of  the  city.  Some  of  them  have  very  fine 
gardens,  laid  out  with  great  taste — the  walks 
of  which  are  very  pleasant,  for  nature  and 
art  have  been  taxed  to  the  utmost,  to  make 
them  so.  Many  m'arble  statues  are  placed  in 
the  gardens,  appearing  to  have  been  brought 
from  the  ruins  of  ancient  cities."  They  are 
also  frequently  enlivened  by  bands  of  music. 

The  Summer  Palace  at  Tsascocela  was  the 
most  popular,  having  been  the  favorite  retreat 


54  MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 

of  Alexander.  In  the  gardens  belonging  to  it 
are  many  curiosities,  among  which  is  a  com- 
plete Chinese  village,  with  cottages,  bridges 
and  temples :  but  the  thing  that  pleased  me 
best  was  a  spring  of  water,  with  its  embellish- 
ments. It  is  situated  in  a  valley,  well  shaded 
with  tall  trees.  The  approach  to  it  is  rather 
gloomy  ;  but  when  you  reach  the  spot,  an  open 
space  appears.  The  spring  is  on  one  side,  and 
on  the  opposite  side  are  seats  placed  in  a  semi- 
circular form,  where  you  may  rest  yourself. 
The  water  issues  from  a  broken  pitcher,  which 
appears  to  have  just  fallen  from  a  young 
lady's  hand — which,  with  the  whole  embel- 
lishment, is  a  remarkably  delicate  piece  of 
work  in  bronze.  It  consists  of  a  pedestal, 
on  which  is  a  beautiful  female  reclining, 
supporting  herself  by  the  left  arm.  In  her 
right  hand  is  the  handle  of  the  pitcher.  The 
pitcher  itself  lies  on  the  pedestal,  and  over- 
hangs the  front  edge  enough  to  prevent  the 
stream  of  water  from  touching  its  base.  Her 
eyes  are  fixed  on  the  pitcher;  and  she  appears 
to  look  so  earnest  and  so  co*mposed,  that  if  she 
could  speak,  I  should  expect  her  to  say  coolly — 
"It  is  done,  and  cannot  be  helped." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

FIRST  ADVENTURES  IN  AMERICA. 

Employment  during  the  passage  to  America.  Excursions  in 
the  country.  First  impressions.  Anecdote.  Residence 
at  Methuen.  Reading,  society.  Amusements,  &c. 

IN  June,  1823,  I  left  Russia  for  the  United 
States ;  and  after  a  voyage  of  sixty-three  days, 
was  safely  landed  on  India  wharf,  in  Boston, 
Mass. 

I  amused  myself  during  the  passage,  at  such 
times  as  my  health  would  permit,  in  the  study 
of  mathematics.  I  had  previously  made  my- 
self acquainted  with  the  improved  engineers' 
sliding  rule,  and  decimal  fractions ;  and  com- 
mitted to  memory  several  useful  factors,  such 
as  3.1416,  .7854,  27.648,  &c.  These  and  many 
others  are  often  used  to  find  the  superficial  and 
solid  contents,  and  also  the  weight  of  different 
bodies.  After  getting  used  to  the  motion  of  the 
ship,  I  commenced  making  a  table,  by  which 
I  might  easily  calculate  the  pressure  of  a  col- 
umn of  water  of  any  diameter,  and  of  any 


56  MEMOIR    OF    A    MECHANIC. 

height.  Before  it  was  finished,  however,  I 
perceived  several  repetitions  ;  for  the  very 
same  figures  occurred  in  different  answers; 
and  on  examining  a  little  farther,  I  found  out 
the  rule  by  which  they  were  governed — namely, 
the  shifting  of  the  decimal  point — which  ena- 
bled me  to  simplify  my  work  very  much.  I 
found  that  the  answers  to  the  first  nine  num- 
bers would  serve  for  all  the  others,  whether 
above  or  below  unity. 

I  was  highly  delighted  with  this  discovery. 
As  it  happened  when  I  had  several  weeks  of 
leisure,  and  but  little  to  engage  my  attention.  I 
pursued  the  subject  with  ardor;  and  before  I 
left  the  ship,  I  had  prepared  several  tables  for 
various  purposes.  The  passage  seemed  too  short 
for  me.  How  tedious  a  voyage  of  several  weeks 
•must  be,  to  persons  who  have  no  resources  of 
amusement  within  themselves!  whereas  per- 
sons of  studious  habits  may,  with  a  few  books, 
pens  and  paper,  beguile  those  hours  which  to 
others  would  be  almost  insufferable.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  persons  confined  in  a 
prison,  or  by  sickness. 

Having  got  on  shore,  and  safely  disposed  of 
my  baggage,  I  purchased  a  few  books  and 
maps  for  my  immediate  use,  and  set  out  on  an 
excursion  into  the  country,  in  company  with 
a  friend.  We  crossed  the  Bay  to  Cohasset, 


FIRST    ADVENTURES    IN    AMERICA.  57 

and  after  climbing  the  slippery  rocks,  we 
passed  through  some  woodland  to  the  village. 
My  friend  amused  himself  with  his  gun  for 
three  or  four  days,  while  I  was  looking  about  the 
place ;  for  everything  seemed  rather  strange 
and  interesting.  In  the  mechanical  way,  I  saw 
several  simple  contrivances,  which  answered 
very  well  the  purposes  for  which  they  were 
intended.  Among  them  were  cheese  and  cider 
presses,  and  small  windmills  with  pumps,  to 
raise  the  sea  water  for  making  salt.  Nature 
also  presented  many  interesting  objects,  some 
of  which  were  new  to  me.  The  mighty  ocean 
with  its  rocky  shores,  and  the  sea-breeze  on  a 
sultry  day;  the  wild  woods,  with  the  chirping 
and  croaking  of  their  inhabitants;  Indian  corn ; 
the  black  snake,  the  skunk  and  the  squirrel ; 
several  kinds  of  birds  and  water-fowl : — these 
were  among  the  objects  that  attracted  my  at- 
tention. 

We  went  also  to  Marshfield;  but  the  scenery 
there  was  less  interesting.  The  stone  walls, 
however,  which  are  everywhere  to  be  met 
with,  struck  me  as  very  curious.  The  old 
lady  of  the  farm  house,  where  we  stopped,  was 
very  communicative.  She  politely  showed  me 
the  orchard,  which  was  extensive,  with  the 
trees  well  laden  with  choice  fruit.  She  was 
5 


58  MEMOIR    OF   A    MECHANIC. 

pleased  with  my  account  of  other  countries ; 
and,  in  return,  I  was  instructed  in  the  mys- 
teries of  making  fire  cakes,  dough-nuts,  &c. ; 
and  also  in  peeling  apples  by  machinery.  The 
apple  was  stuck  upon  a  fork,  and  caused  to 
revolve  by  a  crank,  while  a  knife  something 
like  a  spoke  shave  was  held  against  the  apple. 
The  process  is  very  simple,  and  expeditious. 
The  apples  were  next  quartered,  and  dried  for 
future  use.  I  was  informed  by  this  lady  that 
she  stood  at  her  front  door,  and  saw  the  en- 
gagement between  the  Shannon  and  Chesa- 
peake. 

After  returning  to  Boston  from  my  excur- 
sion, I  began  to  think  about  employment.  A 
small  farm  and  a  mechanic's  shop  united,  were 
what  1  had  thought  of;  and  with  this  view,  I 
went  about  forty  miles  to  look  at  a  shop  and 
some  land  that  were  for  sale ;  but  after  exam- 
ining two  or  three  lots  that  were  offered,  I 
concluded  it  would  be  best  to  wait  a  few 
years,  and  get  more  acquainted  with  the  man- 
ner of  trading,  which  1  found  required  some 
experience.  1  was  led  to  this  conclusion  from 
a  transaction  that  I  saw.  The  man  who  had 
the  lots  of  land  to  sell,  called  on  a  tanner  and 
looked  out  a  calf-skin  ;  and  after  a  long  talk, 
agreed  to  pay  so  much  Indian  com  for  it.  He 


FIRST   ADVENTURES    IN   AMERICA.  59 

told  me  it  would  make  two  pair  of  boots  ;  and 
that  the  boot-maker  was  to  have  one  half  the 
skin  to  pay  for  working  up  the  other  half. 

I  was  soon  engaged  to  work  in  a  machine 
shop,  connected  with  a  cotton  factory  situated 
at  Methuen,  Essex  County,  Mass.,  something 
less  than  thirty  miles  from  Boston.  Here  I 
remained  three  years,  commencing  in  the  mid- 
dle of  September,  1823. 

Six  months  passed  away,  without  my  being 
able  to  do  anything  towards  my  favorite  ob- 
ject— the  promotion  of  popular  improvement. 
In  the  spring  of  1824,  however,  an  opportunity 
offered  itself  for  me  to  attempt  the  formation 
of  a  society  for  mutual  improvement.  A  dis- 
course was  delivered  on  the  afternoon  of  fast 
day,  by  the  clergyman  of  the  village,  on  the 
importance  of  knowledge,  and  the  facility  with 
which  it  can  be  obtained,  by  a  judicious  ar- 
rangement of  our  time,  and  by  associating 
together  for  mutual  benefit.  In  fact,  he  ex- 
pressed my  views  so  well,  that  1  felt  confident 
of  a  kind  reception  from  him ;  and  I  accord- 
ingly wailed  on  him  the  same  afternoon. 

After  stating  my  views,  and  presenting  him 
some  papers  on  the  subject,  he  informed  me* 
that  a  small  society  for  reading  had  existed  for 
about  five  years  in  the  village,  but  was  at  a 
very  low  ebb  at  that  time.     He  was  pleased 


60  MEMOIR    OF    A    MECHANIC. 

with  my  proposals,  and  invited  me  to  attend 
the  next  meeting  of  the  society. 

I  attended,  and  found  a  respectable  number 
of  both  sexes  assembled  at  the  house  of  one  of 
the  members.  They  were  engaged  in  reading 
by  turns  from  Whelpley's  Compend  of  General 
History  ;  and  the  president  put  questions  to 
them,  as  they  proceeded,  which  made  it  inter- 
esting. At  the  close  of  this  exercise,  he  asked 
me  how  I  liked  it.  "Very  well,"  was  my 
reply.  I  then  inquired  what  other  exercise 
they  had.  He  told  me  that  was  all,  except  an 
annual  address,  which  he  delivered  himself. 
I  asked  him  if  it  would  not  be  well  to  try  the 
debating  of  questions,  and  familiar  lectures  on 
science  and  the  arts.  He  said  he  thought  well 
of  it,  but  they  felt  very  cautious  how  they 
ventured  from  shore,  lest  they  should  get  into 
deep  water.  I  told  him  I  thought  they  need 
not  be  afraid  ;  for  I  had  seen  persons  engaged 
in  such  exercises,  whose  opportunities  for  in- 
tellectual improvement  were  inferior  to  theirs. 
I  was  asked  if  I  could  give  them  a  lecture.  I 
said  I  would  try;  and  prepared  myself  accord- 
ingly. 

I  had  brought  a  small  air-pump  with  me 
from  Russia,  which  I  made  of  a  piece  of  gas- 
tubing,  with  a  ground  brass  plate,  on  a  ma- 
hogany stand,  I  bought  a  few  glass  articles. 


FIRST   ADTENTURES    IN   AMERICA.  61 

which  I  ground  to  fit  the  pump-plate,  with  a 
little  sand  and  water,  on  the  hearth-stone  of 
my  room.  I  procured  a  small  wash  tub,  and 
fitted  a  shelf  to  it.  for  a  pneumatic  cistern. 
In  this  way  I  succeeded,  with  a  very  simple 
apparatus,  in  explaining  the  mechanical,  and 
some  of  the  chemical  properties  of  air. 

This  put  new  life  into  the  society.  Their 
Constitution  was  revised,  to  make  provision 
for  a  library  and  apparatus.  Debating  was 
also  introduced  with  success;  and  the  ladies 
handed  in  compositions,  which  were  read  at 
the  meetings.  The  reading  exercise  was  pur- 
sued only  occasionally.  Several  of  the  mem- 
bers were  prevailed  upon  to  give  lectures  on 
subjects  connected  with  their  professions,  un- 
less some  particular  branch  of  knowledge  had 
been  studied  by  them.  It  required  considera- 
ble effort  on  the  part  of  the  more  active  mem- 
bers, to  bring  those  forward  who  were  very 
diffident.  More  than  one  case  occurred,  how- 
ever, in  which  gratitude  was  felt  by  those  who 
had  thus  been  roused  to  action. 

I  served  as  vice  president  of  the  society 
during  the  remainder  of  my  stay  in  the  town, 
and  took  an  active  part  in  its  exercises. 

The  society  continued  to  meet  at  the  mem- 
bers' houses,  until  it  became  too  large  to  be 
thus  accommodated.  They  then  tried  the 


62  MEMOIR    OF    A    MECHANIC. 

school  house,  and  the  hall  at  the  tavern ;  but 
not  being  satisfied  with  either  of  these,  they 
built  a  two  story  building  for  their  own  accom- 
modation, at  an  expense  of  twelve  hundred 
dollars,  of  which  I  furnished  my  full  share. 
The  building  was  completed  within  two  years 
from  the  time  I  was  introduced  tg  the  society. 
The  hall  was  let  to  another  society ;  and  there 
were  two  mechanics'  shops  under  it. 

Since  this  time,  the  society  has  been  quite 
prosperous.  The  exercises  were  weekly,  iri 
the  following  order: — 1.  Reading  by  all  the 
members ;  2.  Reading  by  one  member  selected 
for  the  purpose ;  3.  An  original  lecture ;  4. 
Discussion.  This  monthly  course  was  con- 
tinued for  one  year  after  the  new  hall  was 
completed. 

In  October,  1826,  I  left  this  place  to  reside 
in  Boston,  and  have  not  visited  it  since;  but  I 
have  frequently  heard  of  the  prosperity  of  the 
society. 

I  amused  myself  at  times,  while  residing  in 
the  country,  with  making  additions  to  the 
decimal  tables,  which  were  commenced  during 
my  voyage  to  the  United  States.  About  one 
hundred  and  fifty  of  them  were  made,  from 
which  forty-eight  were  selected  and  published, 
with  directions  for  their  use,  and  examples,  at 
Boston,  in  1830,  after  ascertaining  their  value, 


FIRST    ADVENTURES    IN   AMERICA.  63 

by  previously  printing  a  few  specimens,  and 
distributing  them  among  my  friends.  For  this 
purpose,  as  there  was  no  printer  in  Methuen.  I 
procured  some  types,  and  made  a  press,  and  all 
other  articles  necessary  for  a  miniature  print- 
ing and  binding  establishment;  and  produced, 
with  the  labor  of  my  own  hands,  over  one 
hundred  small  pamphlets  of  fourteen  pages, 
containing  sixteen  of  these  tables,  with  exam- 
ples. &c.  This  was  in  1825.  I  also  performed 
sundry  small  jobs  in  the  printing  line  for  my 
friends ;  which  were  of  some  service  to  them, 
and  quite  a  joke  to  me. 

While  residing  in  Methuen,  I  acted  as  super- 
intendent of  a  Sabbath  school  belonging  to  the 
Baptist  society  of  that  place ;  and  yet  J  call 
myself  a  churchman  ;  though  I  have  never 
made  any  particular  professions  of  religion.  I 
also,  while  in  this  town,  became  a  Mason, 
and  was  installed  into  the  office  of  Senior 
Warden  of  Grecian  Lodge,  by  a  deputation 
from  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  on 
the  10th  of  May,  5826 ;  and  soon  after,  I  had 
to  officiate  as  Master,  during  the  remainder  of 
my  stay  in  the  place,  owing  to  the  Master's 
leaving  the  town.  Afterwards,  in  Boston,  I 
took  the  higher  degrees,  as  far  as  the  Royal 
Arch  ;  but  my  business  and  other  engagements 
prevented  me  from  paying  much  attention  to 


64  MEMOIR    OF   A    MECHANIC. 

the  subject.  Still,  I  know  enough  about  the 
institution  to  declare  it  not  only  innocent,  but 
of  a  moral  and  useful  tendency,  when  its  rules 
are  followed.  And  I  can  say  with  truth,  that 
I  have  never  spent  happier  moments  than 
while  in  the  lodge,  where  all  meet  on  the 
same  level. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


RESIDENCE  AND  OCCUPATION  IN  BOSTON. 

How  employed.  Making  of  school  and  philosophical  Appa- 
ratus. Causes  of  success.  Loss  of  shop  and  materials  by 
fire.  Good  fortune  comes  at  last. 

THE  next  ten  years  of  my  life,  which  were 
spent  in  Boston,  may  be  divided  as  follows: — 
One  year  and  three  quarters  as  a  journeyman, 
in  the  service  of  Mr.  William  Philpot,  machin- 
ist; the  next  three  years  as  co-partner  with 
Mr.  John  Codman,  machinist;  then  three  years 
and  a  quarter  in  business  by  myself,  and  for 
the  most  part  engaged  in  making  and  selling 
apparatus  for  illustrating  the  various  sciences, 
(though  a  beginning  had  been  made  in  the 
making  of  instruments,  particularly  air-pumps, 
before  I  left  Mr.  Codman  ;)  and  the  remainder 
of  the  time  in  connection  with  Mr.  J.  M. 
Wightman,  who  now  has  the  care  of  the  busi- 
ness. 

It  has  been  seen,  that  from  a  boy  I  have  had 
some  tools  of  my  own,  and  have  been  engaged 


66  MEMOIR   OF   A    MECHANIC. 

in  my  leisure  time  in  making  various  articles 
for  experiments ;  and  that  I  have  also  been 
very  fond  of  engaging  in  any  measures  for 
popular  improvement. 

After  I  had  heen  in  Boston  three  or  four 
years,  Mr.  Josiah  Holbrook,  a  gentleman  much 
engaged  in  the  establishment  of  Lyceums, 
came  to  me  to  see  about  apparatus,  as  he  was 
trying  to  introduce  such  cheap  and  simple 
instruments  into  schools  and  other  seminaries 
of  learning,  as  would  come  within  their  means. 
He  had  already  several  articles  for  illustrating 
geometry,  astronomy,  &c. ;  but  air-pumps  were 
not  then  simplified  enough  to  form  a  part  of 
the  Lyceum  apparatus.  At  this  interview,  I 
introduced  to  his  notice  a  small  air-pump  for 
exhausting  and  condensing,  and  several  arti- 
cles of  apparatus  to  be  used  with  it,  which 
I  had  made  for  the  amusement  of  myself 
and  my  friends.  He  frankly  acknowledged  it 
to  be  the  very  thing  that  was  wanted  in 
the  smaller  establishments  for  education.  He 
wished  me  to  make  some  for  sale,  and  prom- 
ised to  recommend  them,  which  he  did  not 
fail  to  do.  From  this  interview,  I  may  date 
the  commencement  of  my  making  philosophi- 
cal instruments,  as  a  regular  business.  And 
upon  the  whole,  1  have  been  more  successful 
than  could  be  expected,  when  it  is  considered 


RESIDENCE    IN    BOSTON.  67 

that  it  was  a  business  so  different  from  the 
one  I  had  been  used  to. 

And  how  is  this  to  be  accounted  for?  From 
a  variety  of  circumstances,  among  which  may 
be  named,  a  demand  for  cheap  and  useful  in- 
struments, and  the  fact  that  1  was  connected 
with  several  societies  for  improvement,  and 
the  frequent  demand  on  me  for  lectures, 
affording  me  many  opportunities  of  showing 
how  much  could  be  done  with  my  simple  ap- 
paratus, which  was  also  lent  out  to  be  used 
by  others;  and  in  this  way,  most  of  the  teach- 
ers and  others  having  charge  of  the  various 
institutions  for  education,  became  acquainted 
with  me  and  my  pursuits.  Then,  again,  the 
place  where  I  was  located  was  very  favorable. 
Boston  is  styled  the  "  Literary  Emporium." 
Education  is  more  generally  diffused  through- 
out New  England  than  the  other  parts  of  the 
Union,  and  teachers  from  this  part  are  much 
in  demand  in  the  other  sections  of  the  country. 

Such  I  conceive  to  be  some  of  the  reasons 
for  my  success ;  and  the  fact  of  my  mind  not 
having  been  biased,  while  young,  to  the  regular 
routine  of  instrument  makers,  turned  out  to  be 
a  favorable  circumstance.  I  had  the  theory, 
or  principles  of  several  sciences,  and  an  exten- 
sive acquaintance  with  machinery,  with  some- 
thing of  an  inventive  mind  ;  and  had  imbibed 


68  MEMOIR    OF    A   MECHANIC. 

very  strongly  the  idea  that  if  a  machine  per- 
formed well,  its  construction  could  not  be  too 
simple. 

I  managed  finally,  with  such  assistance  as 
I  could  procure,  to  contrive  and  introduce  a 
number  of  useful  articles  of  apparatus,  suitable 
for  illustrations  in  some  of  the  sciences ;  but 
a  greater  innovation  was  made  in  regard  to 
the  air-pump  than  anything  else.  Three  dif- 
ferent sizes  were  made,  all  of  them  upon  new 
plans,  forming  a  complete  system  of  air-pumps, 
adapted  to  the  several  grades  of  institutions 
for  the  purpose  of  education. 

As  I  commenced  business  without  capital, 
I  had  to  struggle  a  long  time  in  straitened 
circumstances,  and  was  obliged  to  be  very  in- 
dustrious and  prudent.  And  after  getting  the 
business  into  a  good  train,  with  a  prospect  of 
making  it  profitable,  the  whole  concern  was 
brought  to  a  stand  very  suddenly,  by  the 
burning  of  the  building  which  I  occupied, 
particularly  the  upper  part,  where  my  shop, 
ware-room,  &c.,  were  situated. 

This  occurred  in  the  summer  of  1835.  The 
fire  caught  in  the  cellar,  while  the  workmen 
belonging  to  the  lower  part  were  gone  to  din- 
ner ;  and  such  was  the  combustible  nature  of 
the  materials,  that  the  flames  rushed  up  the 


RESIDENCE   IN   BOSTON.  69 

stairway  leading  to  my  shop,  so  suddenly  that 
myself  and  one  young  man  were  obliged  to 
make  our  escape  through  a  scuttle  in  the  roof, 
while  another,  who  barely  saved  himself  by 
the  stairway  and  a  second  story  window, 
was  so  badly  burned  that  he  scarcely  avoided 
losing  his  life,  after  upwards  of  two  years  of 
suffering.  He  had  gone  down  the  upper  flight 
of  stairs  in  great  haste,  and  having  passed  the 
door,  which  shut  with  a  spring,  he  could  not 
return ;  but,  with  astonishing  fortitude,  leaped 
out  at  a  window  of  the  second  story,  although 
the  flames  were  passing  out  with  fearful  vio- 
lence at  the  same  time. 

The  other  lad  had  followed  him  until,  on 
opening  the  door,  the  flames  came  full  in  his 
face — which,  with  one  of  his  arms,  was  much 
scorched;  but  the  door  closing,  he  returned, 
and  told  me  that  Henry  could  not  be  saved. 
We  then,  after  looking  round  for  a  moment, 
made  our  way  out  through  the  sky-light,  just 
as  we  were,  with  our  paper  caps  and  aprons 
on,  and  our  shirt  sleeves  turned  up,  leaving  our 
hats,  coats,  <fcc.,  to  the  mercy  of -the  fiery  ele- 
ment. 

By  the  time  I  reached  the  street,  so  many 
people  were  collected  in  front  of  the  building, 
and  there  was  so  much  confusion,  that  I  could 
get  no  information  of  the  other  lad,  for  nearly 


70  MEMOIR    OF   A    MECHANIC. 

two  hours.  I  finally  learned  that  he  had  es- 
caped, and  was  taken  to  a  physician,  who 
had  dressed  his  wounds,  and  conveyed  him 
to  his  mother's  house,  at  the  south  end  of  the 
city. 

My  principal  workman,  Mr.  Wightman,  was 
at  this  time  confined  to  his  bed  with  a  typhus 
fever,  which  was  increased  by  this  calamity — 
particularly  as  the  young  sufferer  was  his 
brother,  who,  when  taken  home,  reported  that 
he  was  the  only  one  of  the  three  who  had 
escaped  ;  and  I  actually  had  to  show  myself 
at  ten  o'clock  the  same  night,  to  convince  him 
that  I  was  still  in  the  land  of  the  living. 

All  my  help,  consisting  of  three  persons, 
were  now  confined  to  their  beds;  the  stock  of 
apparatus  and  my  little  library  destroyed,  and 
the  tools  so  much  injured  that  it  took  me  two 
months  to  get  under  way  again.  The  young 
man  least  injured  got  well  in  three  weeks ; 
and  Mr.  Wightman  recovered  in  five  or  six 
weeks,  when  he  accepted  my  offer  to  become 
a  co-partner  in  the  concern.  By  his  industry 
and  economy,  he  had  saved  a  considerable 
sum  ;  and  his  skill  as  a  workman,  his  general 
good  character,  and  his  remarkable  fidelity  to 
me,  rendered  this  only  an  act  of  justice  due  to 
him,  when  so  favorable  an  opportunity  offered 
itself.  Mr.  Wightman  had  worked  with  me 


RESIDENCE    IN    BOSTON.  71 

without  much  interruption,  ever  since  I  com- 
menced making  apparatus,  and  has  assisted 
me  in  many  of  my  inventions ; — in  fact,  he 
has  been  all  along  my  right  hand  man. 

My  insurance  was  promptly  paid,  which 
enabled  me  to  satisfy  my  creditors,  and  to 
furnish  my  part  towards  starting  again.  I 
bore  this  reverse  with  all  the  philosophy  I  was 
master  of;  and  Dame  Fortune  now  seemed 
determined  to  try  rne  on  another  tack.  In 
less  than  a  year  from  the  occurrence  of  the 
above  described  disaster,  I  was  put  in  posses- 
sion of  a  handsome  property,  which  enabled 
me  to  put  the  business  upon  a  more  respecta- 
ble footing  than  it  had  ever  been  before ;  and 
afforded  me  an  opportunity  of  revisiting  my 
native  country,  for  which  I  proceeded  to  make 
preparations. 

Thus  much  in  regard  to  business.  The 
greater  part  of  my  leisure  time  has  been  de- 
voted to  the  acquisition  of  useful  knowledge, 
and  in  efforts  to  bring  others  into  similar  pur- 
suits. Of  my  endeavors  towards  the  promotion 
of  societies  for  improvement  in  useful  knowl- 
edge, in  this  city,  some  account  remains  to  be 
given,  in  another  chapter.  It  may  be  added, 
also,  that  I  occasionally  contributed  various 


72  MEMOIR    OF    A   MECHANIC. 

articles,  on  subjects  of  a  practical  character, 
to  the  mechanics'  magazines,  especially  the 
Young  Mechanic,  of  which  there  will  be  found 
occasion  for  further  mention  hereafter. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


INVENTIONS. 

Small  Air-pump.  Experiments  performed  with  it.  How 
invented.  Large  Air-pump.  Medium  sized  Air-pump. 
Bottle-proving  machine. 

THE  following  is  a  more  particular  account 
of  the  principal  of  my  inventions  and  improve- 
ments in  school  and  philosophical  apparatus, 
&c.,  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter,  espe- 
cially the  air-pump. 

The  small  air-pump  was  first  introduced, 
and  formed  part  of  a  set  of  pneumatic  appara- 
tus, capable  of  performing  more  than  twenty 
experiments,  illustrative  of  all  the  mechanical 
properties  of  the  air,  as  the  pump  was  both 
an  exhauster  and  a  condenser.  Some  of  the 
experiments  were  rather  striking,  particularly 
that  of  raising  a  fifty-six  pound  weight,  by  the 
upward  pressure  of  the  atmosphere.  There 
was  also  a  water-pump  with  a  glass  barrel,  and 
a  syphon.  The  whole  were  packed  in  a  neat 
case,  which  might  be  carried  under  the  arm. 


74  MEMOIR   OF   A   MECHANIC. 

A  lithographic  print,  showing  how  the  various 
articles  were  to  be  used,  was  pasted  under  the 
cover  of  each  case ;  and  an  explanatory  pamph- 
let was  also  sent  with  each  set  of  apparatus. 


[Experiments  with  the  small  Air-pump.] 

The  construction  of  this  small  air-pump  was 
very  simple,  yet  it  was  quite  effective ;  and 
although  its  action  could  easily  be  reversed, 
there  were  no  spare  parts,  they  being  all  used 
in  each  operation.  It  consisted  of  a  single  barrel 
of  small  bore,  and  therefore  easily  worked  by 
the  hand,  applied  to  a  handle  on  the  end  of  the 
piston  rod.  There  was  a  screw  for  attaching 
it  to  several  parts  of  the  apparatus,  and  also  a 
ground  plate  on  the  end  of  the  barrel;  and 
this  plate,  which  was  cast  on  the  pump,  con- 


INVENTIONS.  75 

stituted  its  chief  novelty.  This  contrivance 
was  discovered  in  the  following  manner : 

As  I  was  giving  a  lecture  with  a  small  sin- 
gle barreled  pump,  with  a  ground  plate  on  a 
mahogany  stand,  and  the  barrel  attached  to 
the  stand  at  the  back  of  the  plate,  I  attempted 
to  perform  the  experiment  of  making  a  balloon 
rise  in  water ;  but  on  covering  the  jar  contain- 
ing the  balloon  with  a  receiver,  I  found  the 
latter  was  cracked,  and  very  leaky.  After  a 
short  trial,  the  thought  struck  me  that  the 
experiment  might  be  performed  without  the 
receiver,  as  the  jar  was  ground  on  the  top. 
So  I  unscrewed  the  plate  from  the  stand,  and 
placed  it  on  the  jar ;  and  the  barrel  being  also 
removed  from  the  stand,  was  attached  to  the 
plate  itself— thus  forming  as  complete  a  pump 
as  before,  but  much  more  simple.  And  from 
this  hint  sprangall  the  small  air-pumps  which  I 
have  made,  as  well  as  those  which  others  have 
taken  the  liberty  of  making  after  my  plans. 

The  sale  of  this  article  has  been  much  more 
extensive  than  could  have  been  anticipated. 
On  my  observing  to  a  friend  that  I  had  a  pros- 
pect of  making  something  of  it,  he  said  that  a 
dozen  would  go  a  great  way  towards  supplying 
the  demand  ;  but  instead  of  dozens,  there  have 
been  several  hundreds  of  complete  sets  sent  to 
various  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  some 


76  MEMOIR   OF  A  MECHANIC. 

to  other  parts  of  the  world.  In  fact,  this  has 
been  the  most  important  article  in  the  business, 
whether  as  regards  my  own  benefit,  or  the 
extensive  place  it  occupies  among  the  means 
of  education.  My  larger  pumps,  although 
they  are  simpler  in  construction,  cheaper,  and 
easier  to  use  than  many  others,  only  take  the 
place  of  the  more  expensive  ones  before  in  use ; 
whereas  this  article  has  been  introduced  into 
many  small  institutions,  where  it  would  have 
been  quite  impossible,  to  introduce  others,  on 
account  of  their  great  expense. 

The  large  air-pump  was  invented  soon  after 
the  completion  of  the  small  one.  In  fact,  the 
first  large  pump  was  suggested  by  inventing 
the  small  one,  and  was  made  very  nearly  in 
the  same  shape,  but  much  larger.  It  consisted 
of  a  stout  mahogany  stand,  with  a  square  top, 
like  a  table,  resting  on  the  floor ;  but  several 
inches  higher  than  a  common  table.  The  plate 
of  the  pump  rested  on  the  top  of  this  stand, 
and  the  barrel  projected  through  the  top.  The 
piston  rod,  which  extended  down  below  th« 
barrel,  was  worked  by  a  simple  lever;  and  the 
operation  was  very  easy. 

This  pump  was  modified  several  times  dur- 
ing five  or  six  years,  until  a  medium  sized 
pump  was  invented,  to  stand  on  a  table,  and 
consequently,  of  a  more  portable  character. 


INVENTIONS. 


77 


[Large  Air-pump.] 

This  contrivance  was  a  great  desideratum,  for 
some  years  before  it  was  accomplished.  But 
in  1834,  the  medium  sized  pump  was  com- 


78  MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 

pleted,  and  a  patent  obtained  for  it;  and  im- 
mediately after,  the  large  pump  was  improved 
by  means  suggested  while  finishing  the  port- 
able one.  These  pumps  are  worked  by  a 
simple  lever  ;  and  the  barrel  moves,  while  the 
piston  is  stationary.  Both  valves  are  attached 
to  the  piston.  The  barrel  is  completely  closed 
at  the  bottom,  and  the  exhaustion  is  performed 
by  the  downward  action  of  the  lever,  pressing 
the  pump  down  upon  the  table  or  floor  on 
which  it  stands,  while  the  upward  motion  is 
greatly  assisted  by  the  pressure  of  the  atmos- 
phere. Thus  the  difficulty  so  long  felt,  of 
fastening  large  pumps  down,  and  of  keeping 
them  steady  while  in  action,  is  completely 
overcome. 


[Medium  sized  Air-pump.] 


INVENTIONS.  79 

Passing  over  a  number  of  minor  articles, 
which,  though  useful,  it  might  be  tedious  to 
describe  here,  1  will  conclude  my  remarks  on 
this  part  of  the  subject  by  giving  an  account 
of  an  invention  of  mine  of  quite  a  different 
character. — About  seven  or  eight  years  ago,  I 
was  applied  to  by  the  agent  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Glass  Bottle  Company,  about  a  machine 
to  try  the  strength  of  porter  and  other  bottles. 
He  had  seen  a  notice  in  a  scientific  periodical, 
of  a  machine  invented  in  France  for  this  pur- 
pose, but  without  any  description ;  and  he  had 
no  idea  how  it  should  be  made.  I  told  him 
that  I  had  as  much  as  I  could  do  in  attending 
to  my  own  inventions  ;  but  I  would  think  the 
subject  over,  and  if  I  did  not  make  the  machine, 
I  was  willing  to  give  the  person  who  might 
make  it  the  results  of  my  thoughts  on  the  sub- 
ject. I  matured  a  plan,  and  after  considerable 
solicitation,  made  the  machine  myself,  which 
had  the  effect  of  helping  the  company  out  of 
their  difficulty ;  for  upon  trial  it  was  clearly 
proved  that  their  bottles  were  stronger  than 
the  imported  ones,  being  all  put  to  the  same 
test. 

This  machine  was  made  upon  the  same 
principles  as  the  hydrostatic  press;  and  al- 
though the  piston  of  the  forcing  pump  was 
only  half  an  inch  in  diameter,  yet  the  operation 


80  MEMOIR    OF   A    MECHANIC. 

was  performed  in  a  short  time ;  for  the  bottles 
were  filled  with  water  previously  to  attaching 
them  to  the  machine,  so  that  it  required  but  a 
few  strokes  of  the  pump  to  put  on  the  pressure ; 
and  the  power  required  was  so  small  that  a 
light  force  applied  to  the  end  of  the  lever  was 
sufficient  to  give  a  pressure  of  several  hundred 
pounds  on  the  square  inch,  which  pressure  was 
indicated  by  the  rise  of  mercury  in  a  tube 
closed  at  the  top,  and  previously  filled  with 
air.  A  graduated  scale  was  attached  to  the 
tube,  to  show  the  degree  of  pressure  at  any 
period  of  the  operation. — What  made  this  ma- 
chine of  so  much  consequence  to  the  company 
was,  that  the  consumers  of  bottles  would  not 
purchase  them,  unless  they  were  warranted  to 
be  as  strong  as  the  imported  ones;  and  this 
the  company  had  previously  no  means  of  as- 
certaining. 

This  machine  was  subsequently  put  in  or- 
der and  used  by  the  Assistant  Quarter  Master, 
at  Boston,  to  try  the  strength  of  articles  made 
of  India  rubber  cloth. 


CHAPTER  X. 


SOCIETIES  IN  BOSTON. 

Boston  Mechanics'  Institution.  Its  history.  Classes.  Char- 
itable Mechanics'  Association.  Boston  Lyceum.  Me- 
chanics' Lyceum.  The  Essayist.  The  Young  Mechanic. 
Franklin  Lectures. 

ON  my  arrival  in  Boston,  my  first  object  was 
to  make  inquiries  respecting  mechanics'  socie- 
ties; but  I  was  surprised  to  learn  that  no  society 
existed  to  which  a  mechanic  could  resort,  and 
hear  lectures  on  subjects  calculated  to  aid  him 
in  his  vocation.  There  had  been  some  talk  of 
building  a  mechanics'  hall,  &c. ;  but  that  pro- 
ject was  abandoned.  I  conversed  with  several 
persons  on  the  subject,  who  were  willing  to 
assist  in  forming  a  society  for  mutual  improve- 
ment. I  put  a  notice  in  a  newspaper,  stating 
where  names  would  be  received,  and  finally 
called  a  meeting,  which  was  attended  by  nine 
persons;  and  a  second,  which  was  attended 
by  only  seven.  At  this  meeting,  it  was  deter- 
mined to  make  the  thing  more  popular,  by 
advertising  it  in  the  daily  papers,  and  hiring 


82  MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 

a  hall  in  a  central  situation.  The  next  meet- 
ing was  held  at  Concert  Hall,  and  was  very 
well  attended.  The  result  was  the  formation 
of  the  Boston  Mechanics'  Institution.  This 
was  in  1826. 

The  society  soon  became  popular,  which  in- 
duced others  to  follow  the  example  thus  set ; 
so  that  it  became  evident  that  in  Boston,  as 
well  as  in  other  places,  it  only  required  a  little 
exertion  on  the  part  of  those  who  felt  an  inter- 
est in  the  subject,  to  induce  at  least  a  portion 
of  its  citizens  to  improve  these  advantages. 

Finally,  however,  other  societies  of  Various 
kinds  becoming  numerous,  the  Institution  be- 
came deprived  of  so  large  a  share  of  its  former 
patronage,  that  the  receipts  were  found  in- 
sufficient to  defray  the  expenditures;  and  the 
lectures  were  discontinued,  (with  a  hope,  how- 
ever, of  reviving  them  at  some  future  time.) 

Being  the  first  society  in  Boston,  that  intro- 
duced popular  lectures  on  various  branches  of 
science,  it  would  seem  rather  strange  that  it 
did  not  continue  longer.  The  fact  of  the  pa- 
tronage being  divided  among  a  number  of 
societies  is  not  sufficient  to  account  for  its 
decline — it  having  made  such  an  auspicious 
beginning,  with  a  large  number  of  members, 
and  in  addition  to  the  regular  assessments,  a 
voluntary  subscription  having  been  set  on  foot 


SOCIETIES   IN   BOSTON.  83 

soon  after  its  organization,  by  which  the  liberal 
sum  of  about  twelve  hundred  dollars  was  real- 
ized, and  a  collection  of  apparatus  commenced. 
An  act  of  incorporation  was  also  obtained, 
and  it  had  the  appearance  of  a  permanent 
institution ;  but  the  sequel  shows  that  it  was 
not  conducted  in  a  way  to  make  it  lasting. 

As  I  have  taken  part  in  the  management  of 
this  society  from  its  formation,  and  have  been 
very  anxious  for  its  success,  I  have,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course,  formed  my  own  ideas  as  to  the 
causes  of  its  decline.  Not  the  least  of  these,  I 
should  say,  was  its  unsocial  character.  A 
course  of  lectures,  merely,  during  the  winter, 
was  all  that  the  managers  ever  attempted  :  no 
library,  reading  room  nor  classes.  A  class 
on  mechanical  science  was  indeed  formed,  by 
members  of  the  Institution,  with  the  expecta- 
tion that  the  managers  would  give  it  encour- 
agement, and  own  it  as  a  branch  of  the  Insti- 
tution ;  but  they  merely  appointed  a  committee 
to  consider  the  subject,  with  power  to  furnish 
a  room  for  the  class.  They  decided,  however, 
that  it  was  inexpedient;  and  some  of  the  board 
thought  it  wrong  to  take  the  funds  of  the  so- 
ciety for  the  purpose.  The  class  might  have 
supported  itself,  if  persons  could  have  been 
admitted  who  were  not  members  of  the  Insti- 
tution ;  but  the  rules  of  the  class  forbade  it. 


84  MEMOIR    OF   A    MECHANIC. 

In  fact,  the  class  adhered  too  closely  to  the 
rules  of  the  parent  for  its  own  benefit;  and 
was  finally  discontinued,  for  want  of  a  little 
of  that  fostering  care  which  the  managers 
might  have  bestowed,  with  advantage  to  the 
parent  institution,  as  well  as  to  the  class. 

I  took  a  very  active  part  in  this  class,  and 
had  reason  to  expect  that  other  classes  would 
be  formed  on  various  subjects,  which,  while 
they  enabled  the  members  to  make  the  most 
of  the  information  received  at  the  public  lec- 
tures, by  a  more  particular  application,  would 
have  formed  with  the  parent  a  bond  of  union 
not  easily  broken,  and  rendered  some  of  the 
smaller  societies  since  formed,  unnecessary. 

The  plan  of  classes,  in  connection  with  a 
large  institution,  is  better,  in  some  respects, 
than  so  many  small,  independent  societies, 
which  are  generally  of  short  duration,  as  the 
removal  of  one  or  two  active  members  is  often 
sufficient  to  discourage  the  others,  and  some- 
times to  break  up  the  society.  The  classes, 
on  the  other  hand,  can  be  filled  up  from  time 
to  time,  as  long  as  they  take  an  interest  in  the 
subject ;  and  when  that  fails,  other  classes 
may  be  formed,  on  subjects  in  which  an  inter- 
est is  taken.  By  the  concentration  of  talent 
and  energy,  with  the  various  facilities  afforded 
by  a  popular  institution,  the  classes  can  be 


SOCIETIES   IN    BOSTON.  85 

conducted  with  more  economy,  and  greater 
benefit,  than  can  in  general  be  secured  by 
the  smaller  societies  for  mutual  improvement. 
Still,  I  would  not  depreciate  the  latter,  which 
will  do  much  good,  wherever  they  are  carried 
on  with  the  proper  spirit;  and  there  are  many 
places  where  no  other  kind  will  succeed. 

In  my  remarks  on  the  management  of  the 
Institution,  I  disclaim  the  intention  of  imput- 
ing blame  to  any  one.  The  gravest  charge  I 
am  inclined  to  make,  is  that  of  error  of  judg- 
ment, in  relation  to  the  capacities  of  many 
persons  among  our  youth  and  the  humbler 
classes,  for  social  and  rational  enjoyment,  as 
well  as  for  self-improvement,  which  are  found 
to  exist,  and  to  be  easily  developed,  under 
suitable  influences;  and  which  are  proved  to 
be  much  more  general  than  the  inexperienced 
in  these  matters  could  have  imagined. 

So  tenacious  are  mankind,  in  their  adhe- 
rence to  ancient  prejudices,  that  among  the 
better  informed,  a  small  portion  of  aristocratic 
feeling  is  sufficient  to  close  their  eyes,  so  that 
they  can  neither  see  nor  appreciate  those  fa- 
vorable symptoms  which  are  constantly  devel- 
oped. All  my  experience  is  in  favor  of  these 
opinions,  which  are  confirmed  still  more  by 
what  I  have  lately  seen  of  the  London  Me- 
chanics' Institution,  and  others  of  similar  ten- 
dency. 


86  MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 

In  justice  to  the  managers  of  the  Boston 
Mechanics'  Institution,  I  must  acknowledge 
they  were  placed  in  a  peculiar  situation,  re- 
quiring more  tact,  and  a  greater  variety  of 
auxiliary  means,  than  the  leading  members 
were  disposed  to  employ. 

Among  the  many  kindred  societies  that  had 
adopted  measures  similar  to  those  of  this  insti- 
tution, may  be  named,  as  its  greatest  rival, 
the  Massachusetts  Charitable  Mechanic  Asso- 
ciation. This  was  an  old  and  powerful  so- 
ciety, with  plenty  of  funds ;  but  the  members 
were  very  careful  how  these  funds  were  spent. 
For  a  long  time,  individual  members  had  been 
trying  to  introduce  something  of  an  improving 
nature  into  the  society;  but  when  lectures 
were  named,  there  were  always  a  host  against 
any  such  thing.  The  following  has  been  re- 
lated to  me,  as  a  specimen  of  the  kind  of 
opposition  the  liberal  members  had  to  contend 
with : 

A  proposition  was  made  for  a  course  of  lec- 
tures on  chemistry;  on  which  a  sensible  mem- 
ber exclaimed — "  What  good  will  chemistry 
do  us?  If  we  want  medicine,  the  cheapest 
way  is  to  get  it  at  an  apothecary's  shop." 
And  strange  to  say — such  remarks,  the  off- 
spring of  very  contracted  views,  had  more 


SOCIETIES    IN    BOSTON.  87 

weight  with  the  majority,  than  anything  that 
could  be  urged  in  favor  of  the  proposed  mea- 
sure. 

The  Association  remained  in  this  state  when 
the  Mechanics'  Institution  was  formed ;  but 
the  popularity  of  the  latter  soon  brought  the 
members  of  the  former  to  their  senses,  and 
they  actually  voted  one  hundred  dollars  to  a 
gentleman  for  a  course  of  twelve  lectures, 
which  were  delivered  simultaneously  with  the 
second  course  given  by  the  Institution.  From 
that  time,  the  Association  has  been  progress- 
ing steadily ;  and  there  is  some  reason  to  hope 
that  it  will  do  much  good  in  the  end;  for 
1  have  recently  been  informed  that  they  are 
going  on  bravely  in  the  work  of  improvement. 
"  Mirablle  dictu!"  says  my  American  corres- 
pondent, in  1837,  "  what  can  you  guess  has 
happened — a  new  comet  discovered,  caught  and 
analyzed,  or  one  of  the  men  in  the  moon  fallen 
off  and  alighted  among  us,  to  prove  the  moon 
story  of  last  summer  a  hoax?  No;  not  quite 
equal  to  that,  but  quite  as  improbable.  The 
Mechanic  Charitable  Association  have  actually 
appropriated  five  thousand  dollars  Boston  cur- 
rency to  get  up  a  Fair,  like  the  New  Yorkers 
and  Philadelphians,  next  October.  This  is  the 
consequence  of  a  drubbing  given  them  by  their 


88  MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 

orator,  Mr.  Homer,  at  their  last  triennial  cele- 
bration. Vive  la  grande  Association!  "  * 

The  Mechanics'  Institution  commenced  on 
a  liberal  plan,  paying  twenty-five  dollars  for 
each  of  their  lectures,  which  were  so  well  at- 
tended that  a  repetition  of  them  was  practised 
for  some  time,  when  forty  dollars  were  paid 
for  each  lecture  delivered  twice.  By  such  a 
course,  the  managers  were  enabled  to  procure 
several  good  lectures  from  regular  professors, 
and  to  afford  encouragement  to  other  gentle- 
men of  talent  to  prepare  themselves.  In  this 
way,  lectures  were  supplied  for  several  years; 
and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  they  could  be  no 
longer  kept  up.  But  it  is  some  consolation  to 
those  who  were  the  means  of  setting  this  in- 
tellectual and  moral  machinery  in  motion,  in 
the  capital  of  New  England,  to  remember  that 
it  was  effected  by  the  Boston  Mechanics'  In- 
stitution, in  the  winter  of  1826-7. 

In  the  summer  of  1829, 1  took  part  in  the  for- 
mation of  the  Boston  Lyceum.  I  was  elected 
one  of  its  curators,  gave  several  lectures  during 
the  two  first  seasons,  and  assisted  in  conduct- 
ing some  of  the  classes.  After  that  time,  my 

*  Mr.  Claxton  has  probably  learned,  since  writing  the 
above,  that  the  results  of  the  efforts  here  alluded  to  have 
been  as  creditable  to  the  society  as  could  have  been  antici- 
pated. 


SOCIETIES   IN   BOSTON.  89 

attention  to  the  society  was  relaxed,  in  some 
degree,  by  the  formation  of  the  Boston  Me- 
chanics' Lyceum,  and  my  appointment  as  its 
president,  which  office  I  held  from  February, 
1831,  until  the  termination  of  the  fifth  course 
of  exercises,  in  1835.  These  exercises  con- 
sisted of  lectures,  debates,  declamations,  and 
occasionally,  extemporaneous  speaking — that 
is,  speaking  on  a  subject  as  soon  as  it  is  pro- 
posed. They  were  conducted  on  the  mutual 
instruction  principle,  by  the  members  alone, 
who  were  enabled  to  pursue  this  plan  to  ad- 
vantage, after  being  well  drilled  to  it  in  small 
classes. 

This  society  has  been  often  referred  to,  as  a 
specimen  of  what  mechanics  and  others  might 
do  for  themselves,  by  suitable  efforts.  It  has 
furnished  speakers  for  other  societies,  engaged 
in  various  pursuits;  and  I  might  refer  to  one 
of  the  members,  who  used  frequently  to  speak 
at  temperance  and  other  meetings,  with  good 
effect.  One  evening,  I  heard  it  remarked  of 
him  that  he  learned  to  speak  at  the  Mechanics' 
Lyceum,  which  made  me  feel  gratified,  espe- 
cially as  this  member  had  expressed  a  doubt  of 
the  success  of  the  Lyceum,  at  its  formation.  I 
had  been  speaking  encouragingly  to  the  mem- 
bers, when  he  remarked,  "  That  is  all  very 
well,  if  we  can  make  it  go."  I  devoted  some 
7 


90  MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 

of  my  best  efforts  to  this  society ;  and  we  did 
make  it  go — better,  in  fact,  than  many  had 
anticipated. 

The  members  had  the  privilege  of  intro- 
ducing ladies  to  the  exercises,  who  were  per- 
mitted to  hand  in  pieces  of  composition,  which 
were  read  at  the  meetings.  Some  of  these 
were  published  in  the  "Essayist,"  a  periodical 
conducted  by  Mr.  G.  W., Light,  who  was  then 
secretary  of  the  society.  He  was  a  printer 
and  publisher,  (in  a  small  way  at  that  time;) 
and  had  a  literary  taste  and  a  devotion  to 
the  cause  of  popular  improvement,  which  en- 
grossed much  of  his  time.  The  Essayist  was 
devoted  to  literature;  and  the  matter  was  com- 
posed chiefly  of  original  pieces  from  young 
men. 

An  idea  was  formed  from  this,  that  a  simi- 
lar work  devoted  to  the  interests  of  young 
mechanics  might  be  a  useful  thing.  Thus 
the  "Young  Mechanic"  originated,  which  was 
published  for  four  years,  viz.,  from  1832  to 
1S35,  inclusive.  It  was  got  up,  and  conducted 
for  some  time,  by  six  members  of  the  Mechan- 
ics' Lyceum,  including  Mr.  Light  and  myself. 
And  here  I  may  be  allowed  to  remark,  that 
Mr.  Light  has  been  of  considerable  service  to 
me,  personally,  by  his  valuable  instructions  in 


SOCIETIES   IN   BOSTON.  91 

the  art  of  composition,  in  which  1  must  con- 
fess myself  to  have  been  rather  careless. 

In  the  above-mentioned  work,  articles  were 
admitted  from  all  who  were  disposed  to  con- 
tribute, however  humble  their  pretensions — 
the  conductors  undertaking  to  prepare  their 
articles  for  the  press.  Several  memoirs  of 
persons  of  merit,  belonging  to  the  humbler 
classes,  were  also  introduced,  by  way  of  creat- 
ing that  degree  of  self-respect  so  necessary  to 
command  the  respect  of  others. 

In  1832,  1  was  appointed  one  of  the  com- 
mittee of  the  Franklin  Lectures,  got  up  for 
the  benefit  of  those  who  were  prevented  from 
attending  other  courses,  on  account  of  their 
expense,  and  the  early  hour  at  which  they 
commenced.  These  lectures,  beginning  an 
hour  later,  and  being  afforded  at  one  fourth 
of  the  usual  price,  (which  was  accomplished 
by  having  most  of  the  lectures  gratuitous,  and 
by  the  ready  sale  of  the  tickets,  which,  in 
some  seasons,  amounted  to  a  thousand  or 
more,)  gave  to  the  class  they  were  intended  to 
benefit  a  most  valuable  opportunity.  The  duty 
which  I  performed  was  merely  that  of  assist- 
ing the  committee  in  their  deliberations,  and 
giving  an  occasional  lecture. 

Boston  is  now  well  supplied  with  societies 
for  the  improvement  of  the  mind.  Some  of 


92  MEMOIR    OF   A    MECHANIC. 

the  larger  ones,  however,  should  be  modified. 
So  many  different  subjects  are  treated  of  in 
their  lectures,  in  one  season,  that  no  person 
can  get  more  than  a  smattering  of  knowledge 
on  any  one  subject.  Each  society  should  take 
its  own  stand.  Let  one  take  a  stand  decidedly 
of  a  mechanical  nature,  another  of  a  mercan- 
tile, <fcc. ;  and  instead  of  one  or  two  lectures 
on  a  subject,  let  there  be  a  dozen  given,  if  the 
nature  of  the  subject  requires  it.  We  should 
thus  get  information  that  would  be  more  sub- 
stantial and  thorough,  and  the  interests  of  the 
various  societies  would  not  clash. 


CHAPTER  XL 


HOME   REVISITED. 

Anticipations.  Visits  to  friends.  London.  Early  impres- 
sions. Occupations.  Formation  of  the  Bungay  Lyceum. 
"  Hints  to  Mechanics."  Engagement  in  manufacturing 
apparatus. 

As  I  had  not  seen  any  of  my  relations  for 
twenty  years,  any  circumstance  that  would 
enable  me  to  do  so,  without  detriment  to 
anybody,  and  with  credit  to  myself,  would 
naturally  be  hailed  by  me  as  very  fortunate. 
My  wife  had  for  many  years  been  hoping  for 
an  opportunity  to  return,  and  had  frequently 
expressed  such  a  desire;  but  as  for  me,  I  had 
hardly  dared  to  hope.  Although  death  had 
made  some  ravages  in  both  our  families,  yet 
there  were  many  left  that  were  near  and 
dear  to  us,  besides  a  new  generation  that  had 
sprung  up  during  our  absence,  who  were  as 
anxious  to  see  us  as  their  parents  were. 

The  long  wished-for  opportunity  to  gratify 
these  desires  was  happily  afforded  by  the  sud- 
den accession  to  our  worldly  fortune,  which 


94  MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 

has  been  already  mentioned. — Leaving,  there- 
fore, my  partner,  Mr.  Wightman,  to  manage 
the  business,  we  took  our  departure  from  Bos- 
ton, by  the  Providence  Railroad,  on  the  3d  of 
June,  1836,  and  arrived  at  New  York  the  fol- 
lowing morning.  On  the  10th,  we  sailed  for 
London  in  the  packet  ship  Gladiator :  and  af- 
ter a  rather  rough  passage,  for  the  season,  we 
arrived  at  Portsmouth,  on  the  3d  of  July,  and 
went  by  mail  to  London,  where  we  arrived 
next  morning,  in  good  health  and  spirits. 

After  remaining  a  week  with  my  wife's  re- 
lations, we  made  an  excursion  into  the  country 
to  see  my  own.  They  were  all  very  agreeably 
surprised  to  see  us  :  for  although  we  had  kept 
up  a  correspondence,  yet  they  did  not  know  of 
our  corning.  One  of  my  brothers,  who  has  a 
large  family,  and  who  keeps  a  shop  for  the 
sale  of  various  kinds  of  wearing  apparel,  sold 
us  several  articles,  without  discovering  who 
we  were. 

After  spending  several  weeks  in  the  country, 
we  returned  to  London,  and  took  up  our  abode 
there  for  the  present.  I  then  made  a  number 
of  rambles  about  town,  and  noticed  many 
improvements  made  during  my  long  absence. 
London  is  certainly  a  wonderful  place ;  and 
yet,  from  the  projects  on  foot  for  still  greater 
improvements,  it  would  seem  to  be  still  very 


HOME    REVISITED.  95 

far  from  perfection.  Its  limits,  too,  seem  to  be 
unbounded;  for  additions  are  constantly  mak- 
ing, in  every  direction. 

I  was  rather  surprised  to  find  so  many  per- 
sons with  whom  I  had  been  acquainted,  both 
in  town  and  in  the  country — some  of  them 
occupying  the  same  situations  they  occupied 
from  twenty  to  thirty  years  ago;  and  even 
longer  than  that,  in  two  or  three  cases. 

There  is  another  thing  which  seemed  strange 
to  me:  many  things  in  the  vicinity  of  my  na- 
tive place  seemed  very  diminutive,  especially 
the  distances.  What  once  appeared  to  me  a 
noble  river,  was  now  a  mere  rivulet ;  and  the 
bridges  were  reduced  in  the  same  proportion. 
I  was  also  continually  making  blunders  in 
regard  to  the  distances  of  places  in  the  town ; 
and  although  I  knew  that  all  the  compact  part 
of  it  might  be  perambulated  in  half  an  hour, 
yet  I  could  not  easily  divest  myself  of  early 
impressions. 

Such  streets  as  Oxford  Street  in  London, 
Broadway  in  New  York,  or  Washington  Street 
in  Boston,  are  rather  astounding  to  a  country- 
man, at  first  sight ;  but  they  soon  become  fa- 
miliar to  him;  and  those  in  the  smaller  towns, 
on  the  other  hand,  seem  to  dwindle  in  propor- 
tion, as  his  sight  is  accustomed  to  larger  ob- 
jects. So  the  noise  and  activity  of  large  cities 


96  MEMOIR    OF    A    MECHANIC. 

seems  oppressive  to  most  persons,  for  a  while; 
but  this  is  generally  soon  overcome,  and  it  acts 
as  a  sort  of  stimulus  to  them,  so  that  they  can 
seldom  endure  the  quiet  of  a  country  life  after- 
wards, except  for  short  periods.  This  shows 
that  habit  or  custom  governs  our  taste,  and  is 
apt  to  bias  our  judgment,  if  we  are  not  very 
careful. 

Soon  after  taking  up  my  residence  in  Lon- 
don, I  procured  some  tools  with  which  to 
amuse  myself;  and  by  making  some  pieces  of 
apparatus,  and  purchasing  others,  it  was  not 
long  before  I  had  the  means  of  lecturing  on 
several  subjects  at  my  command.  Since  then, 
I  have,  therefore,  been  endeavoring  to  make 
myself  useful  by  giving  lectures  at  the  various 
institutions  in  and  about  London,  and  some  in 
the  country.  1  have  also  taken  an  active  part 
in  the  management  of  several  societies ;  and 
in  this  way,  I  have  become  acquainted  with 
many  of  the  friends  of  popular  improvement 
in  this  country. 

When  on  my  first  visit  at  Bun  gay,  the 
summer  after  my  arrival  in  England,  I  found 
there  was  no  society  for  popular  improve- 
ment in  the  place ;  and  but  little  encourage- 
ment was  given  me  by  those  with  whom  I 
conversed,  to  attempt  the  formation  of  any- 
thing of  the  kind,  as  a  general  impression  pre- 


HOME    REVISITED.  97 

vailed  that  they  were  deficient  in  materials 
suitable  for  such  an  undertaking.  They  were 
also  distracted  by  a  dispute  in  relation  to  the 
payment  of  church  rates,  which  had  been  car- 
ried to  a  considerable  height. 

I  depended,  however,  upon  my  own  judg- 
ment in  these  matters ;  and  after  making  a 
few  observations,  came  to  the  resolution  to 
attempt  the  formation  of  a  society  for  mutual 
improvement,  which  was,  in  fact,  one  of  the 
tasks  I  had  set  myself,  before  leaving  America. 

After  returning  to  London,  I  collected  a 
variety  of  apparatus,  and  some  useful  books, 
which  I  took  with  me  on  a  second  visit  to 
Bungay,  the  next  November  (1836 ;)  and  after 
procuring  a  room  that  would  hold  about  thirty 
persons,  I  oifered  my  services  in  the  formation 
of  a  society ;  but  found  it  slow  work  to  speak 
to  persons  individually. 

Very  little  headway  was  made  in  this  affair, 
till  I  hit  upon  the  plan  of  giving  a  gratuitous 
public  lecture  in  a  large  room,  which  enabled 
me  to  make  an  impression  on  the  audience  in 
favor  of  a  society  for  improvement,  and  to 
give  notice  of  a  second  lecture,  to  be  given  a 
fortnight  from  that  time.  I  also  invited  those 
who  were  willing  to  assist  in  this  object  to 
come  to  my  room,  where  we  held  meetings  for 
exercises,  &c.  twice  a  week ;  and  in  this  way, 


98  MEMOIR    OF   A    MECHANIC. 

we  succeeded  better  than  could  have  been  ex- 
pected. A  society  was  formed,  entitled  the 
Bungay  Lyceum.  Rules,  &c.  were  adopted, 
and  officers  appointed  to  manage  its  affairs. 

A  statement  of  the  progress  we  had  made 
was  given  to  about  four  hundred  persons  at 
my  second  public  lecture,  and  the  thing  now 
became  pretty  generally  known.  I  continued 
my  exertions  for  about  ten  weeks;  and  before 
I  left,  a  larger  room  was  provided,  the  collec- 
tion of  a  library,  &c.  commenced,  and  every- 
thing in  relation  to  the  society  was  going  on 
well.  I  gave  them  a  parting  address,  on  the 
importance  of  knowledge,  with  the  means  of 
its  acquisition ;  and  received  from  them,  at  its 
conclusion,  a  written  testimonial,  prepared  by 
a  committee,  in  approbation  of  my  services. 

On  returning  to  London,  I  stopped  at  Bury 
St.  Edmunds,  and  gave  two  lectures  to  the 
Mechanics'  Institution  of  that  place;  and  thus 
ended  my  winter  excursion. 

Besides  these  occupations,  1  have  also  en- 
gaged myself  in  procuring  information  relative 
to  the  history  and  progress  of  Mechanics'  In- 
stitutions. I  found  that  the  origin  of  these 
institutions  had  not  been  properly  treated  by 
previous  writers;  and  after  well  considering 
the  subject,  I  determined  to  attempt  the  prepa- 
ration of  a  more  correct  account  of  their  his- 


HOME    REVISITED.  99 

tory.  This,  accompanied  with  a  strong  appeal 
to  mechanics  on  the  important  subject  of  edu- 
cation, has  been  published  in  a  small  volume, 
with  the  title  of  "Hints  to  Mechanics,"  which 
has  met  with  a  very  favorable  reception. 

After  the  manuscript  of  the  above  mentioned 
work  was  prepared,  I  hesitated  some  time  as 
to  a  publisher.  I  finally  determined  to  offer  it 
to  Messrs.  Taylor  and  Watton,  booksellers  to 
the  London  University,  as  they  were  chiefly 
engaged  in  publications  relating  to  education. 
A  few  days  after  leaving  the  manuscript,  I 
received  a  note  requesting  an  interview  in  re- 
lation to  the  manuscript  and  other  matters. 
These  "  other  matters,"  I  found,  were  to  solicit 
my  co-operation  with  the  Central  Society  of 
Education  in  relation  to  school  apparatus ;  and 
I  here  actually  saw  a  set  of  "mechanical 
powers,"  which  had  been  imported  from  a 
New  York  manufacturer.  They  were  highly 
gratified  to  find  one  who  had  been  so  much 
engaged  in  these  matters,  and  who  had  con- 
tributed his  share  towards  giving  celebrity  to 
Yankee  apparatus.  Their  pleasure  was  in- 
creased on  finding  me  at  leisure,  and  willing 
to  assist  them  in  putting  their  plans  into  a 
practical  train.  They  had  as  yet  accomplished 
comparatively  nothing  in  this  branch  of  their 
operations,  though  they  had  been  for  some 


100  MEMOIR    OF   A   MECHANIC. 

time  making  efforts  to  do  so — one  great  obsta- 
cle in  their  way  being  an  inability  to  find  any 
workmen  of  a  grade  between  the  common  ar- 
tisan and  the  regular  old-fashioned  instrument 
maker,  to  assist  them  in  the  construction  of 
suitable  articles. 

At  first,  they  wanted  me  to  superintend  the 
manufacture  of  these  articles;  but  finding  I 
had  to  contrive  many  things,  and  modify  oth- 
ers, and  taking  into  consideration  the  difficulty 
of  finding  suitable  persons  to  execute  the  work, 
I  determined  to  attempt  it  myself;  and  I  am 
now  having  a  shop  built,  in  which  to  carry 
out  my  plans.  I  have  had  an  excellent  work- 
man employed  on  the  apparatus  for  three 
months,  who  has  produced  some  things  which 
give  good  satisfaction. 

As  what  has  now  been  related  seems  to  be 
all  that  it  is  necessary  to  say  concerning  my 
fortunes  since  returning  to  my  native  land,  I 
must  therefore  here  bring  my  story  to  a  close. 


MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

IT  is  well  known  to  many,  that  Mr.  Claxton, 
while  residing  in  this  country,  besides  being  an 
industrious  as  well  as  ingenious  Mechanic,  was 
equally  industrious  in  promoting  the  cause  of 
improvement  and  education,  especially  among 
the  class  with  whom  his  business  brought  him 
most  closely  in  contact.  Sometimes  we  find 
him  volunteering  his  services  in  lecturing  on 
useful  topics ;  at  others,  employing  his  pen  to 
arouse  in  other  minds  the  same  love  of  truth 
which  was  active  in  his  own ;  counting  no 
effort  lost  which  led  to  the  discovery  or  prac- 
tical application  of  some  useful  truth. 

We  believe  the  following  remarks  made  by 
Amasa  Walker,  Esq.*  in  noticing  a  lecture  de- 
livered by  Mr.  Claxton,  before  the  Boston  Ly- 

*  Mr.  Walker  was  agent  of  the  Factory  at  Methuen, 
while  Mr.  Claxton  was  there,  and  was  accustomed  to  take 
part  in  the  exercises  of  the  Literary  Society  at  that  place. 


102  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

ceum,  are  no  more  than  a  fair  expression  of  the 
manner  in  which  he  is  regarded  by  some  of 
our  most  respectable  citizens,  who  are  best 
acquainted  with  his  labors  in  this  city: 

"  We  cannot  refrain  from  paying  a  tribute  of  re- 
spect to  Mr.  Claxton.  He  is  a  man  we  admire  ; 
a  self-made  man,  a  mechanic — an  industrious,  perse- 
vering, indefatigable  student,  and  at  the  same  time 
a  laborious  and  efficient  workman  at  his  trade, 
which  is  that  of  a  machinist.  We  have  known 
him  for  a  number  of  years.  His  early  education 
was  extremely  defective  and  limited,  but  he  did 
not  therefore  conclude,  as  most  do,  that  he  must 
live  and  die  in  comparative  ignorance  and  obscurity  ; 
on  the  contrary,  he  resolved  by  study  and  effort,  to 
retrieve  the  misfortune  of  his  education,  and  ac- 
quire a  competent  knowledge  of  the  sciences.  In 
conformity  to  this  noble  resolution,  he  devoted  his 
evenings  and  leisure  hours  to  reading  and  reflec- 
tion, and  by  dint  of  perseverance,  has  risen  to  the 
respectable  standing  he  now  occupies,  and  is  un- 
doubtedly entitled  to  the  honor  of  being  one  of  the 
most  scientific  and  intelligent  mechanics  in  the  city 
of  Boston,  and  has  the  friendship  and  acquaintance 
of  many  of  our  most  distinguished  citizens. 

We  do  not  say  this  of  Mr.  Claxton  in  order  to 
praise  him.  He  needs  not  our  humble  commenda- 
tion. He  is  a  modest  and  unassuming  man,  and 
has  no  higher  object  than  his  own  and  others'  intel- 
lectual improvement;  but  we  say  this  to  encourage 
and  stimulate  those  who  are  sighing  and  repining 
on  account  of  their  depressed  condition  and  their 
want  of  education." 


MECHANICS'  INSTITUTIONS.  103 

Believing  that  we  can  give  no  better  addi- 
tional illustration  of  this  disposition,  which 
shows  itself  in  every  part  of  the  foregoing 
Memoir,  we  have  introduced,  under  the  above 
title,  the  following  miscellaneous  selection  of 
articles,  written  by  or  relating  to  Mr.  Claxton, 
among  which  are  some  things  referred  to  in  the 
course  of  the  Memoir,  which  could  not  well  be 
inserted  there  without  interrupting  the  order 
of  the  narrative.  Among  other  matters,  some 
articles  of  an  interesting  and  useful  nature, 
contributed  by  Mr.  C.  to  the  mechanics'  maga- 
zines, have  been  thought  worthy  of  being  re- 
published  in  this  place. 


We  begin  this  selection  with  a  sketch  of 
the  origin  and  early  history  of  Mechanics'  In- 
stitutions, to  the  investigation  and  preparation 
of  which  Mr.  Claxton  has  been  devoting  much 
time,  since  his  return  to  his  native  country. 
Interwoven  with  this  account  is  a  brief  though 
interesting  sketch  of  the  life  of  Dr.  George 
Birkbeck,  for  whom  he  claims  the  honor 
of  originating  these  institutions.  It  may  be 
proper  to  add,  for  the  sake  of  explanation,  that 
this  honor  has  by  some  been  adjudged  to  Pro- 
fessor Anderson,  the  founder  of  the  institution 
in  Glasgow  which  bears  his  name.  Attempts 


104  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

have  evidently  been  made  to  disfigure  or  con- 
ceal the  real  truth  on  this  subject ;  but  we  feel 
confident  that  our  friend  Mr.  C.  has  given  a 
thorough  and  correct  view  of  the  case. 

The  particulars  of  the  following  account 
were  gathered  by  him  from  the  Mechanics' 
Oracle  and  the  Mechanics'  Register,  together 
with  information  obtained  fro.u  Dr.  Birkbeck 
himself. 


ORIGIN   OF  MECHANICS'  INSTITUTIONS. 

In  tracing  the  history  of  Mechanics'  Institutions 
back  to  their  origin,  we  find  that  they  have  de- 
scended in  an  unbroken  line  from  the  Mechanics' 
Class  at  the  Andersonian  Institution  in  Glasgow, 
which  was  formed  in  the  year  1800,  by  George 
Birkbeck,  M.  D.,  then  Professor  of  Natural  Phi- 
losophy in  that  institution,  and  the  second  who 
had  filled  that  station.  His  predecessor  was  Dr. 
Thomas  Garnett,  who  had  been  appointed  on  the 
21st  of  September,  1796.  Professor  John  An- 
derson died  in  January  of  the  same  year ;  and  his 
executors  proceeded  soon  afterwards  to  carry  his 
benevolent  intentions  into  operation,  by  commen- 
cing the  Andersonian  Institution.  This  gentleman 
was  the  eldest  son  of  the  Rev.  James  Anderson, 
minister  of  the  parish  of  Roseneath,  in  Dumbar- 
tonshire, and  was  born  there  in  1726.  He  was 
Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  at  the  University 
of  Glasgow,  for  a  number  of  years,  and  in  his  will 
he  bequeathed  his  extensive  library,  apparatus, 


MECHANICS'  INSTITUTIONS.  105 

&c.  for  "  the  good  of  mankind  and   the  improve- 
ment of  science." 

The  history  of  the  origin  of  mechanics'  institu- 
tions being  blended,  as  it  is,  with  that  of  their 
originator,  it  seems  appropriate  to  commence  with 
a  brief  account  of  the  life  of  this  eminent  indi- 
vidual, which  will,  almost  of  course,  include  or 
suggest  all  which  it  is  at  present  of  importance  to 
say  upon  the  subject. 

Dr.  George  Birkbeck  was  the  youngest  son  of 
William  Birkbeck,  Esq.,  an  eminent  merchant  and 
banker  of  Settle,  in  Yorkshire,  at  which  place  he 
was  born,  in  the  year  1776.  At  a  very  early  age 
he  manifested  strong  indications  of  a  disposition  for 
mechanical  pursuits,  delighting  to  frequent  those 
workshops  in  which  such  articles  were  made  as 
corresponded  with  his  as  yet  undeveloped  genius, 
and  embracing  every  opportunity  to  seize  and  use 
the  tools  of  carpenters  and  other  workmen.  He 
was  in  his  childhood  solicitous  to  be  employed  in 
a  cotton  mill,  that  he  might  be  enabled  to  examine 
the  movements  of  the  machinery. 

After  spending  six  years  at  school  in  Newton, 
on  the  Borders  of  Lancashire,  he  was  placed  under 
the  care  of  Mr.  Dawson,  a  celebrated  mathemati- 
cian of  Sedbergh,  in  which  place  and  its  neigh- 
borhood he  spent  one  of  the  happiest  and  most 
instructive  portions  of  his  life.  He  soon  afterward 
became  acquainted  with  the  late  Dr.  Garnett,  with 
whom  he  spent  some  time,  and  was  induced  to 
turn  his  attention  to  medicine,  and  finally  to  adopt 
it  as  a  profession.  His  medical  studies  were  pur- 
8 


106  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

sued  for  five  winters,  all  in  Edinburgh,  except  the 
second,  which  was  spent  in  London,  to  obtain 
more  accurate  information  on  anatomy.  At  the 
close  of  these  studies,  he  underwent  the  customary 
examination  for  taking  a  degree  in  medicine ;  and 
having  exhibited  proofs  of  possessing  the  neces- 
sary skill,  was  admitted  to  that  distinguished  honor. 

Shortly  alter  his  graduation,  Dr.  Birkbeck  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  Dr.  Garnett,  announcing  his 
own  appointment  to  the  professorship  of  natural 
philosophy  in  the  Royal  Institution  of  London, 
and  his  nomination  of  Dr.  B.  as  his  successor  in 
the  chair  at  Glasgow,  which  he  was  about  to 
relinquish.  Not  feeling  entitled,  at  so  early  an 
age,  to  expect  great  encouragement  in  medical 
practice,  and  wishing  to  spend  a  few  more  years 
in  the  pursuit  of  additional  knowledge,  Dr.  B., 
thinking  this  a  favorable  opportunity  to  promote 
his  views,  consented  to  become  a  candidate.  The 
high  testimonials,  voluntarily  sent,  when  this  be- 
came known,  from  many  distinguished  diameters 
in  Edinburgh,  secured  the  votes  of  a  large  majority 
of  the  trustees ;  and  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  weeks, 
in  November,  1799,  he  commenced  a  course  of 
lectures  on  natural  and  experimental  philosophy, 
and  the  more  interesting  parts  of  chemistry. 

To  supply  these  lectures  with  the  necessary 
apparatus,  strenuous  exertions  were  made  ;  but 
from  the  want  of  an  efficient  philosophical  instru- 
ment maker,  the  greater  part  was  prepared  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  lecturer,  in  the  best 
conducted  workshops  that  he  could  discover. 

Being  thus  introduced  to  a  direct  intercourse 
with  the  artisans  of  Glasgow,  many  of  whom 


MECHANICS'  INSTITUTIONS.  107 

exhibited  a  degree  of  eager  curiosity  that  had  no 
means  of  obtaining  gratification,  and  a  vigor  of 
intellect  for  the  cultivation  of  which  no  provision 
had  been  made,  Dr.  B.  very  soon  formed  a  plan 
for  delivering  a  series  of  elementary  philosophical 
lectures,  adapted,  as  far  as  was  possible,  to  the 
untutored  minds  for  which  they  were  designed, 
and  to  be  offered  to  them  free  of  all  expense. 
The  time  which  he  selected  for  this  purpose  was 
Saturday  evening,  prudently  conceiving  that  it 
would  at  least  be  an  admirable  substitute  for  the 
ordinary  mode  in  which  that  portion  of  their  time 
was  generally  employed,  and  concluding  that  if 
the  attempt  should  not  otherwise  prove  ultimately 
beneficial,  the  experiment  would  at  least  be  safe 
and  rational. 

Having  matured  this  plan,  Dr.  Birkbeck  com- 
municated his  project  to  the  trustees,  in  whom  the 
management  of  the  institution  had  been  vested  by 
the  will  of  Professor  Anderson,  its  founder,  at  their 
meeting  in  March,  1800.  This  was  a  source, 
however,  from  which  no  encouragement  was  to  be 
derived,  and  no  assistance  obtained.  So  far  as 
the  motive  was  concerned,  the  scheme  procured 
commendation,  but  in  other  respects,  it  excited 
smiles,  as  the  delusive  vision  of  youthful  enthusi- 
asm ;  and  it  was  even  derided  when  considered  in 
reference  to  the  individuals  for  whose  benefit  it 
had  been  introduced.  Of  these  trustees,  many 
were  intimately  acquainted  with  the  wants,  the 
habits  and  the  capabilities  of  the  artisans,  yet  not 
one  was  disposed  to  express  even  a  favorable  opin- 
ion of  the  proposition. 


108  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

The  session  being  concluded,  Dr.  B.  returned 
to  Yorkshire ;  and,  in  a  short  prospectus  sent  for 
publication  from  that  place,  of  the  several  courses 
to  be  delivered  in  the  next,  introduced  a  notice  of 
the  objects  and  expectations  of  the  new  scheme, 
which  commences  thus  : — "In  the  prosecution  of 
the  design,  I  shall  deliver  a  series  of  lectures  upon 
the  Mechanical  Affections  of  Solid  and  Fluid 
Bodies,  abounding  with  experiments,  and  con- 
ducted with  the  greatest  simplicity  of  expression 
and  familiarity  of  illustration,  solely  for  persons 
engaged  in  the  practical  exercise  of  the  mechanic 
arts."  The  notice  closes  with  the  following  ob- 
servations:— "Whatever  the  arrogance  of  learning 
may  have  advanced,  in  condemnation  of  superficial 
knowledge,  and  however  firmly  persuaded  I  may 
be  that  the  people  cannot  be  profound,  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  predicting  that  vast  benefit  will  accrue 
to  the  community  by  every  successful  endeavor  to 
diffuse  the  substance  of  great  works,  which  cannot 
be  perused  by  the  people  at  large  ;  thereby  mak- 
ing them  reach  the  shop  and  the  hamlet,  and  con- 
verting them  from  unproductive  splendor  to  useful 
though  unobserved  utility." 

The  proper  business  of  the  institution  having 
fully  commenced,  a  printed  invitation  was  sent  to 
the  various  manufactories  in  Glasgow,  for  lists  of 
the  most  sober  and  intelligent  workmen  which 
each  contained,  with  an  offer  of  tickets,  admitting 
them  to  the  mechanics'  class.  One  individual,  by 
whom  these  notices  were  principally  distributed, 
then  unknown  to  Dr.  B.,  now  holds  a  respectable 
scientific  situation,  and  still  speaks  with  great  satis- 


MECHANICS'  INSTITUTIONS.  109 

faction  of  having  made  this  early  effort  in  behalf  of 
popular  institutions.* 

In  consequence  of  the  notices  that  had  been 
distributed,  a  few  lists  were  sent  in,  and  tickets 
having  been  delivered  to  the  individuals  mentioned, 
the  course  opened  with  seventy-jive  pupils.  The 
impression  made  upon  their  minds  may  in  some 
measure  be  estimated,  from  the  next  lecture  being 
attended  by  two  hundred.  At  the  third,  upwards 
of  three  hundred  were  present ;  and  at  the  fourth, 
the  number  amounted  to  Jive  hundred.  These 
the  theatre  could  with  difficulty  contain;  and  many 
others  had  been  refused  tickets,  exclusively  on  this 
account.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  attention  and 
interest  with  which  these  lectures  were  received ; 
and  no  audience  ever  assembled,  on  any  occasion, 
could  exceed  in  propriety  of  behaviour  this  body  of 
artisans  and  mechanics. 

During  the  progress  of  these  lectures,  various 
letters  were  received  from  the  hearers.  One  con- 
tained a  new  plan  for  an  air-pump,  another  for  a 
steam-engine,  and  one  even  for  determining  the 
sun's  distance  by  a  new  method,  from  an  individual 
who,  prior  to  his  hearing  the  few  lectures  on  as- 
tronomy which  made  a  part  of  this,  as  well  as  of 
the  succeeding  courses,  had  never  thought  upon 
this  subject.  Their  strong  attachment  to  these 
lectures  was  further  evinced,  by  the  very  hand- 
some present  of  a  silver  cup,  with  an  appropriate 
inscription  and  devices,  delivered  to 'the  lecturer 
on  the  termination  of  the  course,  by  Mr.  Rober- 

*  The  person  here  alluded  to  is  Dr.  Cleland,  the  cele- 
brated statistical  writer,  who  has  mentioned  the  fact  in  one 
of  his  works. 


110  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

son,*  an  eminent  mechanic,  on  the  part  of  the  sub- 
scribers. These  lectures  were  continued  by  Dr. 
B.  for  three  sessions  more,  accompanied  through- 
out with  similar  manifestations  of  the  approbation 
of  his  hearers,  from  their  commencement  to  their 
termination.  One  of  these  tokens  of  respect  was 
presented  by  Mr.  Robert  Thorn,  who  has  distin- 
guished himself  by  his  inventions  in  the  Water 
Works  at  the  Rothesay  Mills,  near  Glasgow. 
These  testimonials  of  respect  and  interest  em- 
braced his  extensive  mathematical  and  chemical 
course,  as  well .  as  that  which  was  popular  or 
experimental.  In  this  situation  Dr.  B.  continued 
until  the  spring  of  1804,  when  he  finally  relin- 
quished the  professorship  in  the  Andersonian  In- 
stitution, and  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Ure,  the 
present  very  able  and  eloquent  lecturer. 

Subsequent  to  the  above  period,  Dr.  Birkbeck 
delivered  courses  of  scientific  lectures  at  Birming- 
ham, Liverpool  and  Hull,  upon  all  which  occasions 
his  celebrity  as  an  ornament  to  the  world  of  science 
was  increased,  and  his  connexions  were  extended 
by  the  intimacy  of  many  other  eminent  persons. 

In  May,  1805,  the  doctor  was  married  to  Miss 
Catherine  Lloyd,  an  intelligent  and  accomplished 
young  lady,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Sampson 
Lloyd,  Esq.,  of  Farm,  near  Birmingham.  He 
afterwards  passed  a  few  weeks  in  travelling,  and 
according  to  his  original  intention,  he  then  came 
to  London,  where  he  established  himself  as  a  phy- 
sician ;  and  from  his  extensive  connexions,  and  the 


*  This  name,  in  some  accounts,  is  given   Roberton,  and 
Robertson. 


MECHANICS'  INSTITUTIONS.  Ill 

unlimited  confidence  reposed  in  his  medicnl  skill, 
his  practice  rapidly  increased,  and  his  prospects  of 
an  honorable  independence,  as  the  merited  reward 
of  his  labors,  were  in  the  highest  degree  flattering. 

The  worthy  doctor's  domestic  felicity,  however, 
was  soon  destroyed,  by  a  calamity  as  unexpected 
as  it  was  severe,  and  which  it  required  the  exercise 
of  all  his  fortitude  to  support,  in  the  month  of 
March,  1807,  his  amiable  wife  died  within  ten 
days  after  presenting  him  with  a  son  ;  and  by  this 
afflicting  bereavement,  he  was  plunged  into  the 
deepest  distress  ;  but  by  a  persevering  attention  to 
the  important  duties  of  his  profession,  his  mind 
gradually  resumed  its  serenity,  and  for  several 
years  afterwards,  he  continued  to  advance  rapidly 
towards  that  degree  of  eminence  as  a  physician 
which,  at  the  present  time,  he  so  deservedly  en- 
joys. 

Soon  after  he  arrived  in  London,  Dr.  Birkbeck 
was  elected  one  of  the  presidents  of  the  Physical 
Society  of  Guy's  Hospital,  to  which  office  he  has 
ever  since  been  annually  re-elected.  He  was  also, 
in  the  following  year,  appointed  physician  to  the 
General  Dispensary  in  Aldersgate  Street,  and  still 
continues  to  discharge  the  important  duties  of  that 
situation. 

Dr.  Birkbeck  entered  a  second  time  into  the 
married  state  in  July,  1817,  when  he  was  united 
to  Miss  Anna  Margaret  Gardner,  the  youngest 
daughter  of  Henry  Gardner,  Esq.,  of  Liverpool, 
a  lady  whose  many  amiable  qualities  still  shed  their 
attractive  influence  on  his  hours  of  retirement. 

In  the  midst  of  his  successful  professional  career, 
Dr.  Birkbeck  still  retained  his  attachment  to  those 


112  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

scientific  pursuits  in  which  lie  had  formerly  at- 
tained so  much  eminence  ;  and  the  premises  of 
the  London  Institution  in  Moorfields,  of  which  he 
was  one  of  the  original  projectors,  being  now  com- 
pleted, he  offered  to  deliver  a  gratuitous  course 
of  lectures  on  natural  and  experimental  philoso- 
phy ;  and  this  generous  offer  being  gratefully  ac- 
cepted by  the  managers,  he  delivered,  during  the 
spring  of  1820,  seventeen  lectures  to  crowded* 
and  delighted  audiences.  He  also  delivered  other 
courses  of  lectures  at  the  same  place,  in  the  years 
1823  and  1824. 

Many  years  had  now  elapsed  since  the  early 
object  of  his  ambition,  the  formation  of  a  "  Me- 
chanics' Class "  at  Glasgow,  had  been  effected  ; 
and  having  had,  during  this  long  interval,  but  little 
communication  with  that  city,  he  had  not  received 
much  information  of  the  progress  of  the  class. 
In  the  supplement  to  the  sixth  edition  of  the  En- 
cyclopaedia Britannica,  article  "  Cotton  Manufac- 
ture," Mr.  Dugald  Bannatyne  had  spoken  of  Dr. 
Birkbeck's  plan  in  the  highest  te.rms  of  eulogy ; 
and  had  expressed  an  anxious  wish  that  it  should 
be  acted  upon  in  all  the  principal  manufacturing 
towns  ;  and  a  letter  on  the  subject  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Mechanics'  Class  at  Glasgow  appeared 
in  the  Morning  Chronicle,  in  1822,  in  which  the 
writer  alluded  to  the  meritorious  exertions  of  Dr. 
Birkbeck,  as  its  original  founder,  in  a  manner 
which  could  not  fail  to  convince  him,  that  the 
mechanics  of  Glasgow  had  not  forgotten  the  en- 
lightened individual  to  whom  they  were  indebted 
for  the  important  advantages  which  had  resulted 
from  his  efforts. 


113 

In  the  spring  of  1823,  Dr.  B.  received  a  letter 
from  Dr.  Ure,  his  successor  in  the  professorship  at 
the  Andersonian  Institution,  communicating  a  se- 
ries of  resolutions  entered  into  by  the  mechanics 
of  Glasgow,  the  perusal  of  which  must  have  ex- 
cited in  his  mind  that  pure  feeling  of  gratification 
with  which  philanthropy  contemplates  the  :;ccom- 
plishment  of  its  benevolent  purposes.  These  res- 
olutions contained  a  powerful  expression  of  grati- 
tude to  Dr.  Birkbeck,  the  "  liberal-minded  pro- 
jector and  founder  "  of  the  Mechanics'  Class,  and 
a  wish  that  his  portrait  should  be  placed  in  their 
library,  for  which  purpose  a  voluntary  subscription 
was  opened. 

Upon  receiving  Dr.  Birkbeck's  grateful  acqui- 
escence in  their  proposition,  the  mechanics  for- 
warded him  a  letter,  through  the  medium  of  their 
secretary,  Mr.  Alexander  Marshall,  from  which 
the  following  extract  is  given,  as  a  specimen  of 
the  style  in  which  it  was  written,  and  to  show  the 
just  sense  entertained  by  the  mechanics  of  the 
extent  of  their  obligitions  to  their  benefactor: 

"Perhaps,  when  your  philanthropic  mind  first 
suggested  the  idea  of  diffusing  useful  knowledge 
among  mechanics,  it  did  not  occur  to  you  that 
your  benevolent  scheme  would  be  crowned  with 
such  eminent  success  as  subsequent  events  have 
proved.  But  the  oak  springs  from  the  acorn  : — 
the  triumphs  of  truth  over  prejudice,  though  slow, 
are  nevertheless  certain,  and,  if  properly  directed, 
permanently  beneficial  to  mankind.  You  formed 
your  scheme  of  improvement  from  an  intimate 
acquaintance  with  human  nature  ;  and  it  must  be 
gratifying  to  you  to  learn  that  your  philosophic 


114  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

foresight  has  not  been  disappointed.  You  judged 
that  the  mental  lethargy  of  the  operatives  towards 
science  arose  from  no  infirmity  of  their  mental 
powers ;  and  you  judged  right.  You  traced  it 
either  to  a  total  neglect,  or  an  improper  direction 
of  their  faculties  to  objects  unworthy  of  their  no- 
tice. You  undertook  the  generous  task  of  giving 
the  first  impulse,  and  of  directing  their  attention  to 
studies  worthy  of  their  pursuit ;  and  the  experience 
of  twenty  years  has  proved,  beyond  a  doubt,  the 
beneficial  effects  resulting  from  your  system  of  edu- 
cation." 

Soon  afterwards,  from  some  cause  or  other,  the 
mechanics  separated  themselves  from  the  Ander- 
sonian  Institution  ;  and  having  formed  an  indepen- 
dent Mechanics'  Institution,  which  is  still  in  a 
prosperous  state,  the  members,  with  the  same  sen- 
timents of  grateful  recollection  which  had  dictated 
their  previous  resolution,  nominated  Dr.  Birkbeck 
as  their  patron. 

Early  in  1823,  the  doctor  was  revolving  in  his 
mind  the  practicability  of  carrying  a  similar  plan 
into  effect  in  the  metropolis,  for  which  purpose, 
as  a  preparatory  step,  he  was  preparing  for  publi- 
cation an  Essay  on  the  Scientific  Education  of 
the  Working  Classes.  From  the  variety  of  his 
occupations,  this  essay  was  still  in  an  unfinished 
state,  when  his  attention  was  again  attracted  to 
the  subject  by  an  address  to  the  mechanics  of 
London,  which  appeared  in  the  Mechanics'  Maga- 
zine, edited  by  Mr.  Joseph  Clinton  Robertson. 
Of  the  promptitude  with  which  Dr.  Birkbeck 
immediately  offered  his  able  co-operation  in  the 
proposed  plan  for  establishing  the  London  Me- 


MECHANICS'  INSTITUTIONS.  115 

chanics'  Institution,  an  extract  from  the  above 
named  work  will  afford  the  most  conclusive  evi- 
dence. 

"  It  will,  we  feel  assured,  give  peculiar  satisfac- 
tion to  every  well-wisher  to  the  scheme,  to  learn 
that  the  first  gentleman  who  responded  to  our 
invitation  was  the  public  spirited  and  philanthro- 
pic individual  who,  to  adopt  the  language  of  a 
resolution  of  the  Mechanics  of  Glasgow,  of  the 
22d  of  February  last,  had  the  honor  'of  unfolding, 
first  of  all,  with  the  commencement  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  the  temple  of  science  to  the  arti- 
san'— we  mean  DR.  GEORGE  BIRKBECK,  formerly 
professor  in  Anderson's  Institution,  Glasgow  ;  now 
physician  in  London. 

"  Who  but  a  man  of  a  great  and  a  generous 
mind,  flinging  aside  all  the  prejudices  of  education 
and  habit,  soaring  above  most  of  those  around  him 
in  his  views  of  human  capability,  could  have  been 
the  first,  in  the  long  lapse  of  ages,  to  step  forward 
and  invite  the  humble  artisan,  'however  scanty  his 
means,  or  obscure  his  condition,'  to  come  and  draw 
water  from  the  same  stream  at  which  a  Galileo,  a 
Bacon  and  a  Newton  had  drunk  of  immortality?" 

At  the  public  meetings  which  were  subsequently 
held  at  the  Crown  and  Anchor  Tavern,  on  the 
llth  of  November  and  the  2d  of  December, 
1823,  Dr.  Birkbeck  was  unanimously  called  to 
the  chair;  and  to  his  important  assistance,  in  con- 
junction with  many  other  gentlemen,  the  LONDON 
MECHANICS'  INSTITUTION  is  chiefly  indebted  for 
its  original  establishment,  and  the  success  which 
has  since  marked  its  progress.  When  the  first 


116  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

officers  of  the  Institution  were  elected,  on  the 
15th  of  December,  1823,  Dr.  Birkbeck  was  unani- 
mously chosen  President,  in  which  situation  he  has 
ever  since  devoted  his  great  talents  to  the  promo- 
tion of  its  interests,  with  a  degree  of  zeal  and 
perseverance  which  has  seldom  been  equalled,  and 
never  surpassed. 

Having  thus  imperfectly  performed  the  task  of 
detailing  the  principal  circumstances  which  have 
distinguished  the  progress  of  this  truly  excellent 
individual,  it  would  be  in  vain  to  attempt  a  further 
illustration  of  his  character  by  any  feeble  praises 
which  our  own  feelings  might  dictate.  Of  the 
high  estimation  in  which  his  genuine  worth  and 
extensive  philosophical  attainments  are  held,  by 
those  who  have  had  ample  opportunity  of  appre- 
ciating them,  some  idea  may  be  formed  by  the 
honors  which  have  been  conferred  upon  him  by 
numerous  scientific  and  other  institutions.  We 
have  already  said  that  he  is  President  of  the  Lon- 
don Mechanics'  Institution,  Patron  of  the  Glas- 
gow Mechanics'  Institution,  Physician  to  the  Gen- 
eral Dispensary,  and  one  of  the  Presidents  of  the 
Physical  Society  of  Guy's  Hospital.  He  is  also 
President  of  the  Meteorological  Society,  of  the 
London  Chemical  Society,  and  of  the  Medical 
and  Chirurgical  Society  of  London  ;  Vice  Presi- 
dent of  the  Surrey  Literary  Institution,  and  Patron 
of  the  Spitalfields  Mechanics'  Institution. 

At  the  first  anniversary  dinner  of  the  Patrons 
and  Members  of  the  London  Mechanics'  Institu- 
tion, which  was  celebrated  on  the  2d  of  Decem- 
ber, 1824,  after  having  on  that  day  laid  the  first 
stone  of  their  Theatre,  with  appropriate  ceremo- 


MECHANICS'  INSTITUTIONS.  117 

nies,  Mr.  Brougham,  the  early  friend  and  coadjutor 
of  Dr.  Birkbeck,  portrayed  with  his  usual  elo- 
quence the  incalculable  benefits  which  must  result 
from  the  general  diffusion  of  scientific  knowledge 
among  the  operative  classes  of  the  community ; 
and  congratulated  the  assembly  on  the  number  of 
mechanics'  institutions  which  had,  within  the  short 
space  of  twelve  months  from  the  establishment  of 
the  central  institution  in  London,  under  the  learned 
President's  auspices,  sprung  up,  as  if  by  magic,  in 
most  of  the  principal  manufacturing  districts  in  the 
kingdom.  Since  that  period,  the  number  has  been 
considerably  augmented  ;  and  in  all  human  proba- 
bility, the  author  of  this  "great  and  good  work" 
will  witness,  for  many  years  to  come,  the  beneficial 
effects  of  his  philanthropic  exertions.  But  when 
the  irrevocable  decree  shall  be  fulfilled,  which 
mingles  the  dust  of  the  enlightened  philosopher 
with  that  of  the  untutored  Indian,  and  confounds 
all  distinction  in  the  "cold  obstruction"  of  the 
grave — when  the  heart  that  now  glows  with  virtue 
and  benevolence  shall  cease  its  pulsations  forever, 
and  the  hand  that  is  stretched  forth  to  the  assist- 
ance of  unobtrusive  merit  shall  be  extended  no 
more,  the  name  of  DR.  BIRKBECK  will  be  remem- 
bered by  countless  multitudes  with  respect  and 
veneration  ;  in  ages  yet  unborn  it  will  be  associated 
with  those  of  the  greatest  benefactors  of  mankind, 
and  the  establishment  of  mechanics'  institutions 
will  be  his  passport  to  a  glorious  immortality-! 

The  history  of  more  than  twelve  additional 
years  of  activity  and  usefulness,  in  the  life  of  this 
worthy  benefactor  of  science  and  art,  might  be 


118  MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 

given,  (for  the  works  from  which  the  above  ac- 
count has  been  chiefly  gathered  were  published  in 
1825;)  but  we  shall  not  attempt  the  task.  It 
need  only  be  observed  that  Dr.  Birkbeck  is  still 
very  actively  engaged  in  promoting  the  objects  of 
popular  education,  and  frequently  gives  lectures  in 
various  parts  of  the  metropolis,  especially  when 
the  wheels  of  a  new  society  are  to  be  put  in  mo- 
tion. We  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  him  lecture 
at  the  Mechanics'  Institution,  on  the  mechanism  of 
the  human  frame,  on  the  evening  of  the  24th  of 
April,  1837.  This  was  the  birth  day  of  the  prin- 
cess Victoria  ;  and  notwithstanding  the  great  at- 
traction occasioned  by  the  illuminations  and  festivi- 


I  by 

?,  th 


ties  of  the  evening,  the  lecture  was  well  attended. 

It  only  remains  to  make  some  remarks  which 
may,  it  is  hoped,  serve  to  set  in  a  satisfactory  light 
the  true  answer  to  the  disputed  question,  to  whom 
the  honor  really  belongs,  of  having  originated  me- 
chanics' institutions. 

Our  reply  to  this  question  is,  that  it  belongs 
to  Dr.  Birkbeck  ;  and  the  reasons  for  giving  this 
honor  to  him  are  plain  and  easy  to  be  understood. 
It  is  acknowledged  by  all  parties  that  he  originated 
the  Mechanics'  Class  at  the  Andersonian  Institu- 
tion in  Glasgow,  in  the  year  1800,  that  it  has  been 
in  being  ever  since,  and  that  from  this  example 
have  sprung  the  various  institutions  of  a  similar 
character  in  Great  Britain  and  other  parts  of  the 
world. 

But  some  say  that  the  idea  originated  with 
Professor  Anderson,  the  benevolent  founder  of  the 
institution  in  which  the  Mechanics'  Class  originated. 


MECHANICS'  INSTITUTIONS.  119 

What  the  precise  ideas  of  that  gentleman  might 
have  been,  we  cannot  tell;  and  those  who  assert 
his  claims  do  not  give  the  clause  in  his  will  touch- 
ing this  matter.  We  are  not,  however,  entirely  in 
the  dark  on  the  subject,  for  we  can  come  at  the 
thing  by  making  a  comparison  between  the  two 
classes  taught  by  these  gentlemen.  Professor  An- 
derson's antitcgn  or  gounlcss  class,  dwelt  upon  by 
the  writer  of  the  article  on  "Mechanics'  Institu- 
tions" in  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  lately  pub- 
lished, was  very  different  from  the  one  proposed 
by  Dr.  Birkbeck,  or  else  how  are  we  to  account 
for  the  conduct  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Andersonian 
Institution  ;  for  when  this  new  scheme,  as  it  was 
called,  was  communicated  to  them,  the  motives  of 
the  proposer  were  commended,  but  in  other  re- 
spects "  it  excited  smiles,  as  the  delusive  vision 
of  youthful  enthusiasm  ;  and  it  was  even  derided 
when  considered  in  reference  to  the  individuals  for 
whose  benefit  it  had  been  introduced.  And  although 
many  of  the  trustees  were  intimately  acquainted 
with  the  wants,  the  habits  and  the  capabilities  of 
the  artisans,  yet  not  one  was  disposed  to  express  a 
favorable  opinion  of  the  proposition."  And  this 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at ;  for  if  we  are  rightly  in- 
formed, although  Professor  Anderson  had  left  his 
valuable  library  and  apparatus  in  their  charge,  yet 
they  had  little  or  no  funds  at  their  disposal  at  that 
time,  notwithstanding  the  "ample  fortune"  men- 
tioned in  the  article  in  the  Encyclopaedia  above 
alluded  to.  Indeed,  it  was  not  until  after  he  had 
been  engaged  three  years,  that  Dr.  Birkbeck  re- 
ceived any  compensation,  when  the  Trustees  pre- 
sented him  with  £200.  Nor  does  the  fact  that 


120  MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 

they  hired  a  place  and  fitted  it  up  for  the  Ander- 
sonian  Institution,  look  as  though  an  ample  fortune 
had  been  left  to  their  management. 

The  facts  of  the  case  are  simply  these — that 
previous  to  this  time  they  had  a  class  at  the  Insti- 
tution very  similar  to  the  antitoga  class  ;  but  the 
one  that  Dr.  B.  proposed  was  quite  different.  A 
guinea  was  paid  by  those  who  attended  the  former 
class,  whereas  the  artisans  were  admitted  to  the 
latter  free  of  all  expense.*  Moreover,  the  new 
class  was  intended  for  a  set  of  persons  altogether 
different  from  those  who  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
attending  the  former  one.  Of  these,  the  few  prac- 
tical men  who  attended  were  principally  masters — 
persons  who  had  some  taste  for  the  sciences,  and 
to  whom  the  expense  was  no  object  of  considera- 
tion ;  but  the  new  class  was  composed  of  sober 
and  intelligent  workmen — those  who  labored  with 
their  hands,  and  whose  tastes  it  was  necessary  to 
cultivate,  before  they  could  feel  like  devoting  their 
time  and  money  to  the  acquisition  of  science. 
And  to  be  successful  in  this,  it  was  necessary  for 
the  teacher  to  exhibit  that  kind  sympathy  for  them 
which  is  so  natural  with  him,  and  which,  to  his 
praise  be  it  said,  he  attributes  to  the  early  teachings 
of  a  kind-hearted  mother. 

So  little  assistance  did  Dr.  Birkheck  receive 
from  the  Trustees,  that  the  greatest  economy  was 
necessary  on  his  part,  in  order  to  carry  his  plans 

*  It  should  be  observed,  however,  that  at  the  second  ses- 
sion they  taxed  themselves  one  shilling  a  head,  and  in  this 
way,  raised  £25, 'there  being  500  of  them.  This  money  Dr. 
B.  would  not  touch,  but  gave  £20  to  the  assistant,  and  £5 
to  the  trustees,  for  the  use  of  the  hall,  lights,  &c. 


MECHANICS'  INSTITUTIONS.  121 

into  execution.  And  if  we  were  capable  of  the 
task,  nothing  could  please  us  better  than  to  sketch 
the  portrait  of  this  young  enthusiast ;  and  in  the 
grouping,  on  one  side,  to  represent  him  in  the  shop 
of  an  artisan,  in  the  act  of  giving  instructions  how 
to  make  some  article  of  apparatus  for  his  lectures, 
and  surrounded  by  eager  listeners,  who  had  invol- 
untarily dropped  their  tools  from  a  laudable  curi- 
osity to  catch  an  idea  of  the  intended  use  of  the 
work  ;  and  on  the  other  side,  to  represent  him  in 
the  act  of  printing  cards  for  the  mechanic  class, 
which,  as  well  as  an  address  to  the  mechanics  of 
Glasgow,  he  actually  did  with  his  own  hands, 
using  a  small  press  for  this  purpose,  which  had 
been  left  at  the  Institution  by  Dr.  Garnett.  This, 
we  conceive,  would  be  a  fit  subject  for  the  histori- 
cal painter. 

But  notwithstanding  we  are  willing  to  go  thus 
far  in  asserting  Dr.  Birkbeck's  claim  to  the  honor 
of  originating  mechanics'  institutions,  we  do  not 
lose  sight  of  those  favorable  circumstances  without 
which  his  exertions  would  not  probably  have  been 
turned  that  way,  or  after  having  been  made,  might 
have  been  lost  to  posterity,  for  want  of  a  successor 
able  and  willing  to  carry  forward  so  noble  an  un- 
dertaking. We  cannot  too  highly  value  the  benev- 
olence of  the  founder  of  the  Andersonian  Institu- 
tion, or  the  perseverance  and  energy  displayed  for 
so  long  a  period  by  Dr.  Birkbeck's  successor,  the 
talented  Dr.  Ure,  who  has  been  the  teacher  of  the 
Mechanics'  Class  so  long,  that  at  one  period  it 
was  almost  forgotten  who  first  formed  it. 


122  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  article  in  the 
Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  to  which  Mr.  Clax- 
ton  refers  in  the  above  remarks,  comprise  the 
substance  of  what  is  there  said  concerning  the 
history  of  Mechanics'  Institutions,  and  in  par- 
ticular, of  the  Andersonian  Institution. 

"  It  has  been  a  subject  of  very  considerable  con- 
troversy, to  whom  the  honor  of  having  originated 
those  institutions  ought  to  be  attributed.  Some 
have  contended  that  to  Professor  Anderson,  the 
founder  of  the  institution  in  Glasgow  which  bears 
his  name,  it  is  alone  due  ;  because,  in  addition 
to  the  clauses  in  his  will,  which  especially  pro- 
vide for  the  formation  of  a  class  of  manufacturers 
and  artificers,  he  had  for  a  period  of  thirty  years, 
while  professor  of  natural  philosophy  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  that  city,  opened  a  class  to  which  manu- 
facturers and  others  had  access,  for  the  purpose  of 
becoming  acquainted  with  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  experimental  physics.  Others,  again,  have 
affirmed,  that  although  Professor  Anderson  had 
such  an  intention  in  view  when  he  framed  his  will, 
it  was  only  through  the  exertions  of  Dr.  Birkbeck, 
the  second  professor  of  the  Andersonian  Institution, 
that  the  project  was  carried  into  complete  and 
practical  effect.  It  appears  to  us,  however,  that  to 
Professor  Anderson  is  certainly  due  the  merit  of 
having  originated  the  idea  of  instructing  that  pre- 
viously neglected,  but  valuable  portion  of  the  com- 
munity. But  while  we  give  to  that  admission  all 
the  weight  to  which  it  is  entitled,  we  are  of  opinion, 
that  in  so  far  as  regards  the  usefulness  of  the  idea 


MECHANICS'  INSTITUTIONS.  123 

when  carried  into  effect,  the  merit  is  due  to  Dr. 
Birkbeck.  Professor  Anderson  was  in  the  frequent 
habit  of  visiting  and  spending  several  hours  in  the 
workshops  of  the  mechanics  of  Glasgow  ;  and  freely 
entering  into  conversation  with  them.  Among 
others,  he  was  often  found  at  the  workshop  of  our 
illustrious  countryman,  James  Watt,  then  a  watch- 
maker, in  Glasgow  ;  and  it  was  in  consequence  of 
the  avidity  with  which  the  workmen  availed  them- 
selves of  the  theoretical  information  which,  on 
these  visits,  he  was  in  the  constant  practice  of  im- 
parting, that  he  first  conceived  the  idea  of  bringing 
within  their  reach  those  principles  of  science,  the 
attainment  of  which  had  hitherto  been  confined  to 
the  higher  and  wealthier  classes. 

He  then  commenced  within  the  walls  of  the 
university,  a  course  of  Lectures  on  Natural  Phi- 
losophy, for  the  especial  benefit  of  that  class  of 
society,  and  divided  the  course  into  two  branches ; 
one  meeting  four  times  a  week,  in  which  the 
mathematical  principles  of  the  sciences  were  con- 
sidered apart  from  experimental  illustration  ;  and 
the  other,  which  met  twice  a  week,  consisting 
entirely  of  those  branches  which  admitted  of  such 
illustration,  and  in  which  the  principles  of  mathe- 
matics were  less  called  into  operation.  This  latter 
class  was  regularly  and  numerously  attended  by  a 
great  many  manufacturers  and  others  engaged  in 
operative  occupations,  and  was  continued  for  several 
years,  with  great  success.  He  called  it  his  antitoga 
class,  in  contradistinction  to  his  regular  academic 
attendance,  which  was  denominated  the  toga  class. 
It  was  in  consequence  of  the  decided  improvement 
in  the  arts  and  manufactures  of  Glasgow,  which, 


124  MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 

from  that  time,  became  very  evident,  and  which 
Professor  Anderson  justly  attributed  to  his  instruc- 
tions, that  he  conceived  the  truly  philanthropic 
intention  of  bequeathing  his  ample  fortune  for 
"the  good  of  mankind  and  the  improvement  of 
science."  In  the  provisions  of  his  will,  there  was 
an  especial  reference  to  the  formation  of  classes 
upon  the  principle  of  that  which  he  had  himself 
so  successfully  taught  within  the  walls  of  the 
university. 

Professor  Anderson  died  on  the  16th  of  January, 
1796;  and  at  a  meeting  of  his  executors,  held  on 
the  23d  of  March  following,  it  was  resolved  to 
carry  his  intentions  into  immediate  effect.  Ac- 
cordingly, on  the  21  st  of  September,  of  the  same 
year,  Dr.  Thomas  Garnett  was  elected  first  pro- 
fessor of  natural  philosophy. 

The  lectures,  however,  were  at  first  only  popular. 
Dr.  Garnett,  in  1800,  was  appointed  to  the  chair 
of  natural  philosophy  in  the  Royal  Institution  of 
Great  Britain,  founded  at  the  suggestion  of  Count 
Rumford  and  Sir  Joseph  Banks  ;  and  Dr.  George 
Birkbeck  was  elected  in  his  stead.  It  was  then, 
upon  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Birkbeck,  that  the 
trustees  were  enabled  to  give  full  effect  to  Pro- 
fessor Anderson's  favorite  idea,  as  expressed  in  his 
will,  of  affording  instruction  in  experimental  phi- 
losophy to  the  artisans  of  Glasgow.  Such  was 
the  origin  of  the  first  mechanics'  class,  which  has 
now  been  taught  for  upwards  of  thirty-six  years, 
with  increasing  success  and  advantage  to  this  inter- 
esting class  of  students. 

But  important  as  was  this  era  in  the  history  of 
the  class  which  was  thus  instituted,  it  was  not  until 


MECHANICS'  INSTITUTIONS.  125 

upwards  of  twenty  years  afterwards,  that  the  ex- 
ample was  followed  by  any  other  city  in  the  king- 
dom. At  length,  however,  in  1821,  the  School 
of  Arts,  for  the  instruction  of  mechanics,  was 
formed  in  Edinburgh  ;  and  within  a  year  or  two 
afterwards,  the  example  was  followed,  and  another 
institution  of  the  same  nature  was  originated  in 
Glasgow,  in  consequence  of  some  differences  which 
had  arisen  between  Dr.  Ure,  (Dr.  Birkbeck's  suc- 
cessor in  the  Andersonian  Institution,)  and  the 
students  who  attended  his  operative  class.  A 
great  many  of  these  left  the  Andersonian,  and 
founded  the  Mechanics'  Institution,  of  which  Dr. 
Birkbeck,  at  their  solicitation,  consented  to  become 
the  patron.  About  the  same  time,  the  London 
Mechanics'  Institution  was  founded  ;  and  within  a 
very  few  years  after  this  period,  there  was  hardly 
a  city  of  any  note  in  the  kingdom  which  had  not 
institutions  of  a  kindred  description." 

We  believe  Mr.  Claxton  contemplates  the 
preparation  of  a  more  extended  and  general 
account  of  Mechanics'  Institutions,  both  in 
England  and  this  country,  than  it  has  been, 
possible  to  furnish  in  this  volume,  from  the 
documents  within  our  reach.  We  have  hopes 
that  he  may  be  enabled  to  give  to  the  world 
a  more  complete  history  of  these  institutions 
than  has  ever  yet  been  published. 


126  MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 


LONDON  MECHANICAL  INSTITUTION. 

A  BRIEF  history  of  this  society  has  been  given 
in  the  preceding  memoir,  in  the  language  of 
Mr.  Claxton  himself,  its  originator,  and  proba- 
bly its  chief  supporter.  It  was,  we  have  reason 
to  believe,  the  first  society  ever  formed  by  me- 
chanics among  themselves,  for  improvement  in 
useful  and  practical  knowledge.  The  only 
institution  having  in  view  similar  purposes, 
which  preceded  it,  (so  fat  as  we  can  learn,) 
was  the  Mechanics'  Class  of  Dr.  Birkbeck,  at 
Glasgow ;  and  of  the  existence  of  this  those 
who  formed  the  "  Mechanical  Institution " 
seem  to  have  been  entirely  ignorant. 

From  its  unfortunately  short  duration,  from 
the  narrowness  of  the  circle  within  which  it 
became  known,  and  still  more,  perhaps,  from 
the  humble  character  of  those  who  composed 
it,  this  society  has  not  made  any  conspicuous 
figure  in  the  annals  of  benevolent  effort  in  be- 
half of  the  human  mind.  And  yet,  we  doubt 
not,  it  contained  within  itself  the  undeveloped 
germ  of  much  more  real  utility  and  benefit  to 
the  artisan  classes,  than  have  characterized 
some  institutions  which  have  taken  the  first 
rank,  as  promoters  of  science  and  the  arts. 


LONDON   MECHANICAL   INSTITUTION.  127 

The  following  paragraphs  comprise  the  prin- 
cipal part  of  a  circular  written  by  Mr.  Claxton 
himself,  which  was  the  first  printed  document, 
(or  public  notice,)  relating  to  the  formation  of 
this  society : 

Every  art  is  improved  by  the  emulation  of  competitors. — Johnson. 

A  few  Mechanics  having  associated  themselves 
together  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  Society  of 
Ingenious  Working  Mechanics,  of  all  descriptions, 
provided  they  are  respectable  men  of  good  cha- 
racter and  a  studious  disposition,  wish  for  a  few 
intelligent  persons  to  step  forward  and  assist  them 
in  forming  a  Committee,  and  composing  a  set  of 
Rules  and  Regulations  for  the  conducting  of  a  So- 
ciety which  has  for  its  object  the  study  and  im- 
provement of  the  Arts  of  this  kingdom. 

We  are  well  aware  that  there  already  exist  many 
valuable  Societies  for  the  promotion  of  the  Arts, 
but  they  do  not  seem  to  be  adapted  to  the  capacity 
of  a  Working  Mechanic.  We  do  not  mean  as  to 
their  terms  of  admission  or  subscription  afterwards, 
but  the  recommendation  they  require  seems  to  be 
the  grand  obstacle,  combined  with  the  very  scientific 
style  of  language  and  the  gentleman-like  appear- 
ance of  their  Members  ;  so  that  the  class  of  people 
that  compose  those  Societies,  and  the  class  of  people 
that  we  should  wish  to  see  possessed  of  the  leading 
principles  of  the  various  branches  of  science,  do 
not  seem  to  have  any  inclination  to  associate 
together,  the  reason  of  which  we  cannot  exactly 
determine  upon — but  it  appears  to  be  a  sort  of 


128 


MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 


customary  pride,  that  does  not  allow  of  the  various 
degrees  of  men  in  high  and  low  rank  to  unite  in  a 
body  ;  and  so  far,  it  may  be  a  very  good  thing,  as 
it  obliges  men  who  wish  to  set  themselves  forward 
in  the  world,  to  endeavor  to  obtain  distinction  by 
their  meritorious  exertions. 

By  taking  a  view  of  the  case  in  this  light,  it 
would  seem  advisable  to  form  a  Society  a  few 
degrees  below  those  already  in  being,  in  order  to 
make  a  path  wherein  the  industrious  Tradesman 
may  walk,  and  to  give  him  an  opportunity  to  im- 
prove the  talents  with  which  he  is  blessed  :  the 
advantages  that  would  arise  from  the  formation  and 
proper  conducting  of  such  a  Society  would  be 
numerous. 

Such  a  Society  would  afford  both  rational  and 
useful  amusement,  in  attending  once  a  week  to 
hear  a  lecture  on  some  useful  branch  of  science, 
or  the  discussion  of  some  question  on  mechanical 
or  philosophical  pursuits.  It  would  create  in  us  a 
disposition  to  pass  our  leisure  time  in  a  way  much 
preferable  to  that  already  practised  by  too  many. 
It  would  make  us  better  ornaments  to  society — 
better  to  ourselves,  our  employers,  and  conse- 
quently to  our  families. 

As  men's  minds  are  not  all  alike  fitted  for  study, 
we  invite  such  as  feel  themselves  inclined,  to  come 
forward  and  join  in  establishing  a  society  which  will 
afford  to  them  benefits  above  those  of  other  men. 
As  there  must  be  some  of  all  sorts,  let  us  advance 
as  far  as  we  can  ;  and  as  it  falls  to  our  lot  to  follow 
the  practice  of  the  arts  for  the  support  of  our  bodies, 
let  us  in  our  leisure  time  endeavor  to  improve  the 
mind,  by  studying  those  points  on  which  the  prac- 


LONDON  •  MECHANICAL    INSTITUTION.  129 

tice  is  founded,  called  the  Theory,  not  forgetting 
the  principle  laid  down  by  Mr.  Owen — "That  there 
always  remains  among  a  certain  number  of  persons, 
a  sufficiency  of  talent  to  instruct  and  amuse" 


The  society  must  evidently  have  contained 
some  rude  materials,  which  should  find  it  ne- 
cessary, "for  the  purpose  of  preserving  good 
order" — for  so  it  stands  in  the  original  Record 
Book  of  the  Society,  still  in  the  possession  of 
Mr.  Claxton — to  pass  resolutions  that,  "if  any 
member  comes  into  the  room  intoxicated,  or 
does  curse,  swear,  or  use  any  obscene  language 
or  discourse,  promote  gaming,  propose  a  wager, 
or  introduce  a  stranger  without  leave  of  the 
President,  he  shall  be  fined  sixpence  for  each 
offence." 

This,  however,  is  precisely  what  was  to  be 
expected  of  a  club  of  any  kind,  gathered  from 
among  the  uneducated  mechanic  classes,  at  that 
period.  The  wonder  rather  is,  that  there  were 
so  many  among  them  who  could  agree,  as  they 
did,  to  pursue  together  the  paths  of  science, 
while  laboring  under  disadvantages  so  great 
as  theirs. 

The  following  is  the  plan  which  they  laid 
out  for  themselves,  and  which  they  seem  to 
have  pursued  steadily  enough  while  they  kept 
together  : 


130  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

"  The  members  of  this  Institution  to  meet  once 
a  week,  and  a  lecture  to  be  given  once  a  fortnight ; 
the  intervening  evenings  to  be  for  the  discussion  of 
questions,  reading  extracts,  and  settling  the  affairs 
of  the  society. 

"  This  Institution  is  to  depend  upon  the  gratuit- 
ous exertions  of  its  own  members  for  lectures. 
Each  member  will  be  expected  to  lecture  in  rota- 
tion, or  read  extracts  from  rare  and  valuable  works, 
to  occupy  not  less  than  one  hour." 

We  do  not  find  much  account  of  the  matter 
or  method  of  their  discussions  or  lectures,  but 
the  following  minute,  which  occurs  on  one  leaf 
of  the  Record  Book,  may  perhaps  suffice  to 
satisfy  curiosity : 

"  OCT.  28,  1817.  Resolved  that  the  cause  of 
the  draught  in  chimneys  before  lighting  the  fire, 
and  of  the  extra  draught  after  lighting  the  fire,  be 
for  discussion  next  Tuesday  evening." 

A  notice  of  this  society  given  in  the  London 
Mechanics'  Magazine  of  February,  1831,  will 
appropriately  close  this  account : 

The  Institution  in  Southampton  Buildings,  not  the 
first  London  Mechanics1  Institution. 

We  always  thought  that  it  was  a  fact  beyond 
all  dispute,  that  the  present  London  Mechanics' 
Institution  was  the  first  establishment  of  the  kind, 
in  the  British  metropolis  ;  and  though  it  has  been 
far  from  realizing  our  anticipations  of  utility,  we 


LONDON   MECHANICAL   INSTITUTION.  131 

have  seen  reason  enough,  in  the  portion  of  good  it 
has  done,  to  deem  it  a  just  matter  of  self-congratu- 
lation, that  by  us,  that  institution  was  planned,  and 
by  us  organized.  Some  documents,  however,  have 
been  recently  transmitted  to  us  from  Boston,  in 
the  United  States,  by  Mr.  Claxton,  a  mechanic, 
who  a  few  years  ago  emigrated  thither  from 
London,  and  who  is  honorably  distinguishing  him- 
self among  his  adopted  countrymen,  by  his  efforts 
to  inspire  them  with  a  taste  for  scientific  inquiry, 
which,  we  freely  acknowledge,  throw  a  very 
different  light  on  the  matter.  It  appears  from 
these  documents,  that  several  years  before  we 
thought  of  calling  upon  the  mechanics  of  London, 
to  form  an  association  for  cultivating  a  knowledge 
of  the  principles  of  the  arts  they  practice,  some  of 
these  mechanics  had  already  done  so  among  them- 
selves, and  of  their  own  accord  ;  though  from  some 
(unexplained)  cause  or  other,  the  institution  of 
their  formation  never  attained  to  any  magnitude — 
nor  ever  acquired  any  considerable  degree  of  pub- 
licity. The  institution  we  alliKle  to,  was  established 
in  August,  1817 — about  five  years  before  the  foun- 
dation of  the  present  London  Mechanics'  Institu- 
tion— and  differing  as  little  from  it  in  name  as  in 
character,  being  called  "  The  Mechanical  Institu- 
tion." In  an  Introduction  to  the  code  of  Laws  of 
this  Mechanical  Institution,  "  Printed  by  J.  Mills, 
Shoe-lane,"  it  is  said  to  have  been  "  established 
for  the  purpose  of  disseminating  useful  knowledge 
among  its  members  and  their  friends,  by  attending 
lectures  and  discussions  on  various  branches  of 
science;"  and  then  follows  a  just,  though  rather 
florid  exposition  of  the  advantages  of  such  knowl- 


132  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

edge  to  men  of  business.  "  The  time  and  talents 
of  individuals  are  in  general  so  much  taken  up 
about  the  affairs  of  life,  as  to  render  them  inca- 
pable of  much  progress  in  the  various  branches  of 
knowledge.  But  still,  knowledge  is  desirable,  as 
it  is  a  bridge  that  will  carry  us  in  safety  over  the 
widest  and  deepest  streams :  it  is  at  once  the 
fountain  of  true  happiness,  the  real  source  of  en- 
joyment, and  an  inexhaustible  mine  of  wealth. 
Moreover,  it  is  the  only  acquisition  not  subjected 
to  the  vicissitudes  of  human  existence — that  of 
which  the  most  determined  effort  of  tyranny  cannot 
bereave  the  possessor."  The  object  of  the  mem- 
bers is  still  more  explicitly  declared,  in  the  code  of 
laws  itself,  to  be  "  the  mutual  instruction  of  each 
other  on  all  subjects  connected  with  the  arts,  sci- 
ences, manufactures,  and  commerce ;  but  more 
particularly  on  such  matters  as  lead,  or  may  seem 
to  lead,  to  any  improvement  in  the  mechanical 
arts;"  and  a  provision  is  added,  that  "no  topic 
of  theology  or  politics  be  discussed  by  this  society." 
The  resemblance,  in  short,  between  the  two  insti- 
tutions, is  altogether  most  complete — so  much  so, 
as  to  leave  the  founders  and  promoters  of  the  one 
last  in  date,  nothing  beyond  a  greater  share  of 
success  to  boast  of. 

Mr.  Claxton  was,  \ve  presume,  the  principal 
promoter,  if  not  the  founder,  of  the  society ;  and 
it  is  not  improbable  that  its  decline  and  extinction, 
may  have  been  owing  to  that  gentleman's  emigra- 
tion to  America. 


METHUEN    LITERARY    SOCIETY.  133 


METHUEN  LITERARY   SOCIETY. 

THIS  Society,  in  which  Mr.  Claxton  took  so 
lively  an  interest  during  his  short  residence  in 
Methuen,  seems  to  deserve  special  notice,  from 
the  fact  of  its  being  one  of  the  earliest  of  those 
societies  which  have  since  been  so  generally 
established,  under  the  name  of  Lyceums. 

The  first  meeting,  we  learn,  was  held  Dec. 
7,  1819,  when  it  was  voted  to  accept  a  Consti- 
tution which  had  been  prepared ;  and  the  per- 
sons present  constituted  themselves  a  society, 
for  the  purpose  of  reading,  and  the  promotion 
of  useful  information,  with  the  title  of  "  The 
Methuen  Social  Society  for  Reading  and  Gene- 
ral Inquiry."  A  number  of  useful  and  inter- 
esting works  were  read  by  the  society,  in  suc- 
cession. Not  long  after  the  formation  of  the 
society,  it  contained  between  forty  and  fifty 
members,  male  and  female.  Afterwards,  the 
interest  abated,  and  the  number  of  members 
diminished.  Finally,  in  the  autumn  of  1823, 
there  were  but  four  or  five  regular  attendants ; 
and  a  consultation  was  held  on  the  subject  of 
dissolving  the  society. 

The  further  history  of  the  society,  and  the 
part  taken  by  Mr.  Claxton  in  resuscitating  the 


134  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

interest  of  its  members,  has  been  already  given 
in  his  own  words,  in  the  Memoir. 

We  need  only  give,  in  addition  to  these  re- 
marks, an  extract  from  an  anniversary  Address 
delivered  by  Mr.  C.  before  the  society,  in  which 
he  will  be  seen  to  have  had  in  his  mind's  eye 
at  that  time,  the  very  plan  of  the  much  talked 
of  "  Lyceum  system,"  which  has  since  been 
so  successfully  and  so  extensively  put  in  ope- 
ration : 

"  Who  will  have  the  heart  to  deny  the  utility  of  such 
an  institution  as  ours  ?  Will  it  not  prepare  its  mem- 
bers for  future  usefulness  in  the  world  ?  Will  it 
not  make  us  better  ornaments  to  society — better 
to  ourselves,  our  neighbors  and  our  country.  *  * 

"  There  is  no  way  so  well  calculated  to  obtain 
knowledge,  as  by  a  society  like  our  own,  composed 
of  individuals  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes,  possessing 
various  talents,  and  pursuing  different  occupations, 
each  throwing  in  his  mite  for  the  good  of  all,  and 
receiving  the  benefit  of  the  contributions  of  all  the 
others.  *  *  *  *  * 

"  If  societies  of  this  kind  were  well  supported  in 
every  town  in  this  Commonwealth,  and  their  influ- 
ence spread  abroad  until  they  reached  each  other's 
sphere,  the  great  mass  of  the  people  would  soon 
find  more  rational  amusement  than  they  do  at 
present.  That  such  a  state  of  things  may  soon 
come  to  pass,  is  my  sincere  wish." 


BOSTON  MECHANICS'  LYCEUM.  135 


BOSTON  MECHANICS'  LYCEUM. 

THE  following  particulars,  (supplementary 
to  the  account  given  in  the  preceding  Memoir,) 
respecting  the  origin  and  early  history  of  this 
institution,  of  which  Mr.  Claxton  was  Presi- 
dent, are  from  an  article  in  the  "Young  Me- 
chanic" for  August.  1832: 

The  first  meeting  in  favor  of  forming  a  Me- 
chanics' Lyceum  in  this  city  (Boston,)  was  called 
by  Mr.  Josiah  Holbrook,  Feb.  5th,  1831.  Mr. 
Timothy  Claxton  presided,  and  Mr.  W.  S.  Baxter 
acted  as  Secretary.  The  evening  was  occupied 
by  the  discussion  of  this  question — "  Has  any  class 
of  the  community  stronger  inducements  or  better 
opportunities  for  mental  improvement  than  practi- 
cal mechanics? "  which  was  decided  in  the  nega- 
tive. The  meeting  adjourned  to  Feb.  12th,  for 
the  discussion  of  another  question,  and  to  take  into 
further  consideration  the  subject  of  forming  a  Ly- 
ceum. At  this  meeting,  a  proposition  was  made 
to  form  an  association  to  be  called  the  "  Union 
Lyceum,"  and  another,  to  form  one  to  be  called 
the  "  Mechanics'  Lyceum,"  both  of  which  were 
referred  to  the  next  meeting,  which  was  voted  to 
be  held  Feb.  19th.  The  latter  proposition  pre- 
vailed at  this  meeting ;  and  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  draft  a  Constitution,  to  be  reported  at 
an  adjourned  meeting,  Feb.  25th. 

The  following  persons  were  elected  officers  for 
the  first  season: — TIMOTHY  CLAXTON,  President; 


136  MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 

G.  W.  LIGHT,  Secretary  ;  JAMES  COOPER,  Trea- 
surer ;  WM.  S.  DAMRELL  and  JOSEPH  WIGHTMAN, 

Curators. 

At  the  first  regular  meeting  of  the  Lyceum,  a 
system  of  exercises  was  adopted,  consisting  of  an 
elementary  course  of  Mechanical  Philosophy  and 
Geometry,  interspersed  with  discussions  of  interest- 
ing questions. 

The  subjects  of  the  lectures  were  treated  upon 
by  the  members  of  the  Lyceum,  seven  of  them 
taking  parts  on  the  evenings  of  the  lectures,  and 
each  one  occupying  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 

At  a  meeting  held  June  7th,  (the  same  year,) 
the  following  subjects  for  lectures  were  adopted, 
for  the  second  term,  viz.,  Architecture,  Political 
Economy,  Botany,  Geology,  Natural  History,  As- 
tronomy, Biography  of  Practical  Men.  The  mem- 
bers were  left  to  choose  their  own  subjects  for 
essays.  At  a  subsequent  meeting,  it  was  voted 
that  Declamation  should  be  added  to  the  regular 
exercises  of  the  Lyceum,  which  was  afterwards 
found  to  increase  the  interest  and  usefulness  of  the 
society. 

We  are  able  to  confirm  the  testimony  of 
Mr.  Claxton,  that  this  society  has  been  the 
means  of  doing  much  good,  in  the  way  of 
eliciting  and  cherishing  a  taste  for  the  ac- 
quirement of  useful  knowledge,  among  those 
who  came  under  its  influence.  The  closing 
remarks  of  the  writer  of  the  above  quoted  ar- 
ticle will  explain  the  Society's  views  of  the 
utility  and  advantages  of  their  plan  : 


BOSTON  MECHANICS'  LYCEUM.  137 

"  As  to  the  success  of  the  Lyceum,  thus  far, 
notwithstanding  its  number  of  members  has  been 
small,  the  improvement  of  those  who  have  devoted 
their  attention  to  it,  has  exceeded  the  anticipations 
of  the  projectors.  They  now  feel  confident,  that 
the  plan  of  having  the  exercises  conducted  by  the 
members  alone,  is  not  only  in  accordance  with  the 
true  Lyceum  system,  but  far  more  productive  of 
solid  improvement,  than  the  mere  attendance  upon 
popular  lectures.  In  the  one  case,  the  members 
acquire  a  habit  of  doing  their  own  studying  and 
speaking,  and  consequently  of  calling  into  exercise 
the  faculties  of  their  own  minds,  and  using  the 
means  for  improving  their  own  manner  of  delivery  ; 
while  in  the  other,  most  of  the  hearers  of  popular 
lectures  retain  little  of  the  instruction  they  receive, 
and  are  too  apt  to  go  away  with  the  impression 
that,  because  the  lecturer's  duty  is  performed,  their 
own  task  is  as  certainly  completed.  If  the  former 
obtain  only  a  smattering  knowledge  of  science — 
which  we  maintain  is  not  the  case — the  latter  do 
not  obtain  even  that.  It  is  not  my  design  to  dero- 
gate in  the  least  from  the  real  merits  of  the  popu- 
lar system  of  conducting  Lyceums.  While  kept 
within  its  proper  sphere,  it  may  be  of  extensive 
benefit ;  but  I  do  maintain,  that  popular  lecturing 
ought  not  to  be  the  regular  exercise  of  any  insti- 
tution, the  professed  object  of  which  is  mutual  im- 
provement. I  am  aware  of  the  difficulty  of  giving 
very  great  popularity  to  an  association  which  de- 
pends wholly  upon  its  own  resources  for  advance- 
ment in  knowledge  ;  but  still  I  am  of  opinion,  that 
the  improvement  of  a  Lyceum  depends  as  much 
upon  the  faithful  exercise  of  its  own  powers,  as 
that  of  an  individual  does  upon  his  own  efforts. " 
10 


138  MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 

As  a  matter  of  curiosity,  the  following  brief 
article,  published  by  Mr.  Claxton  in  the  Lon- 
don New  Monthly  Magazine  in  1816,  is  inserted 
here,  it  being  the  first  specimen  of  his  compo- 
sition ever  put  in  print. 

THE  IGNIS  FATUUS. 

IN  some  works  I  find  the  ignis  fatuus  described 
as  a  meteor,  chiefly  seen  in  dark  nights,  frequenting 
meadows,  marshes,  and  other  moist  places,  known 
among  the  people  by  the  names  of  WiU-with-a- 
Wisp,  and  Jack-with-a-Lanttrn.  We  are  further 
told,  that  it  seems  to  arise  from  an  exhalation, 
which,  being  kindled  in  the  air,  reflects  a  sort  of 
thin  flame  in  the  dark,  without  any  sensible  heat, 
and  that  it  is  found  flying  along  rivers,  hedges,  &c,, 
because  it  there  meets  with  a  stream  of  air  to  direct 
it.  In  other  books,  I  have  found  the  above  account 
of  the  ignis  fatuus  contradicted.  The  light  pro- 
duced is  there  said  to  proceed  from  the  lantern  fly, 
whose  body  is  very  brilliant,  and  the  under  side  of 
its  wings  glazed  ;  these,  when  extended,  serve  as  a 
reflector.  A  gentleman  asserted  that  he  followed 
one  for  several  hours,  which  would  fly  against  the 
wind,  mount  over  hedges,  houses,  &c. — This  was 
not  the  effect  of  the  wind. 

The  question  is,  whether  this  light  is  produced 
by  a  vapor  or  a  fly,  and  whether  it  is  calculated  to 
do  any  mischief  ?  Correct  notions  on  this  subject 
would  greatly  tend  to  remove  the  fears  of  ignorant 
country  people. 


A   PAPER   FOR   ALL.  139 

The  following,  from  the  London  Literary 
Journal  of  1818,  is  no  less  interesting  than  the 
preceding,  evidencing,  as  it  does,  the  disposi- 
tion of  Mr.  C.  to  turn  everything  to  a  practical 
account,  with  particular  reference  to  the  benefit 
of  the  mechanic  classes. 

A  PAPER  FOR  ALL. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Literary  Journal. 

SIR  : — Permit  me  to  congratulate  you  on  the 
subject  of  your  paper,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
offer  a  word  of  advice  to  the  mechanics  of  London 
and  its  vicinity.  As  you  wish  to  make  the  Lite- 
rary Journal  A  PAPER  FOR  ALL,  and  as  you  pub- 
lish it  on  Saturday  morning,  I  advise  such  of  my 
brother  mechanics  as  are  in  the  habit  of  spending 
sixpence  of  a  Saturday  night,  for  the  sake  of  com- 
pany or  variety,  to  make  a  trial  of  your  paper,  as 
there  is  to  be  found  in  it  both  variety  and  utility  ; 
and  it  will  serve  the  whole  family,  who,  after  all, 
will  have  a  good  book  to  show  for  the  money. 

A  JOURNEYMAN   SMITH. 

P.  S.  Some  may  say, '"I  should  like  it  better 
if  there  was  a  little  more  of  mechanical  informa- 
tion to  be  found  in  the  Literary  Journal."  In  my 
opinion,  the  best  way  to  supply  that  is,  for  me- 
chanics to  become  correspondents  ;  and  1  will  ven- 
ture to  hope  you  will  not  turn  away  any  useful 
information. 


140  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

Several  articles  here  following  are  selected 
from  among  Mr.  Claxton's  contributions  to  the 
Young  Mechanic,  of  which  some  account  is 
given  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Memoir.  To 
those  who  are  unacquainted  with  that  work, 
as  well  as  with  Mr.  C.  himself,  they  will  not, 
we  think,  be  found  wanting  in  interest;  and 
those  who  are  familiar  with  both  will,  no  doubt, 
gladly  recognize  their  old  acquaintances  in  this 
new  dress. 

HINTS   ON   THE   ECONOMY   OF  HEAT, 

AND    PEEVENTING    ACCIDENTS    FROM    FIKE. 

MANY  distressing  cases  of  fire  are  known  to 
originate  from  stove  pipes,  and  flues  of  furnaces  ; 
also  from  sparks  coming  in  contact  with  wearing 
apparel,  and  other  combustible  substances.  Now 
if  the  number  of  stoves  and  fire  places  could  be 
greatly  reduced,  a  corresponding  diminution  of 
these  conflagrations  would  necessarily  be  the  con- 
sequence. 

The  question  which  naturally  suggests  itself,  is, 
how  can  we  dispense  with  our  stoves  and  fire 
places  ?  I  answer,  pull  down  your  chimneys,  and 
place  them  under  your  streets  in  a  horizontal  posi- 
tion, three  feet  or  more  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  and  let  them  serve  as  conduits  for  hot  air. 
The  air  may  be  heated  at  an  establishment  located 


ECONOMY    OF    HEAT.  141 

near  some  navigable  canal,  or  good  land  convey- 
ance, where  fuel  can  be  had  at  the  cheapest  rate; 
and  it  may  be  forced  along  these  subterraneous 
tubes,  by  a  steam  engine,  or  other  adequate  power, 
and  supplied  to  the  inhabitants  as  water  and  gas 
now  are. 

Let  us  picture  to  ourselves  a  plan  for  a  town  as 
follows: — The  dwelling  houses  to  be  built  without 
chimneys  or  fire  places ;  the  heat,  when  required, 
to  be  supplied  by  the  town  or  by  private  compa- 
nies, as  might  be  found  best.  At  the  back  of 
every  house,  a  kitchen,  having  a  fire  place,  should 
be  built ;  and  any  other  out  houses  or  sheds  that 
might  be  wanted.  The  back  door  might  be  cov- 
ered with  sheet  iron  on  the  side  next  the  kitchen, 
to  prevent  the  fire  from  communicating  to  the 
house,  in  case  the  kitchen  or  sheds  were  on  fire. 

Mechanics'  shops  should  be  built  unconnected 
with  dwelling  houses.  A  number  of  mechanics, 
having  shops  near  each  other,  might  unite  in  the 
employment  of  a  steam  engine,  to  drive  lathes  and 
other  machinery.  If  the  various  branches  of  art 
were  carried  on  in  the  vicinity  of  each  other,  much 
time  might  be  saved,  both  to  the  mechanics  and 
their  customers. 

The  plan  of  the  streets  is  of  much  consequence, 
as  it  respects  the  facility  of  finding  a  fire,  when  an 
alarm  is  given.  I  was  once  struck  with  the  admi- 
rable plan  of  a  spider's  web.  The  animal  keeping 
watch  in  the  centre,  how  easy  it  was  for  him  to 
start  in  any  direction,  that  an  unlucky  fly  might  get 
entangled  in  his  net.  I  thought  at  the  time  that 
this  would  be  an  excellent  plan  for  the  streets  of  a 
town,  with  a  watch  tower  in  the  centre,  and  a  de- 


142  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

pot  for  fire  engines,  together  with  a  market,  and 
other  establishments  requiring  a  central  situation. 
Every  district  might  also  have  its  fire  engine.  By 
keeping  a  good  look-out  of  a  night,  the  direction 
of  a  fire  might  be  quickly  ascertained  ;  and  an  in-* 
dex  that  swivelled  round  might  point  towards  the 
fire ;  or  the  town  might  be  divided  into  sections, 
and  the  number  of  the  section  where  the  fire  was, 
presented  alternately  to  all  the  radiating  streets. 


NEW  AIR  ENGINE. 

THE  annexed  figure  is  selected  from  among  a 
number  of  drawings  of  machines  of  this  descrip- 
tion: some  of  them  swing  like  a  pendulum.  I 
have  set  at  work  several  models  of  various  forms, 
on  similar  principles. 


PERPETUAL   MOTION.  143 

In  this  machine  there  are  two  copper  balls,  each 
having  a  tube  open  at  the  lower  end,  which  termi- 
nates in  a  vessel  of  water.  When  one  of  the  balls 
is  placed  over  the  lamp,  some  of  the  air  which  it 
contains  is  expelled,  and  escapes  at  the  open  end, 
and  rises  through  the  water.  If  the  other  ball  be 
now  brought  over  the  lamp,  the  air  will  be  Tariffed 
in  that  also,  while  a  vacuum  is  forming  in  the  first. 
At  the  same  time,  the  water  rises  in  the  tube 
above  the  level  of  the  water  in  the  vessel.  This 
will  now  preponderate,  and  bring  the  first  ball  over 
the  lamp  again.  The  water  will  now  be  driven 
out  of  its  tube  by  expanding  the  air,  while  the 
other  tube  is  filling  with  water,  to  be  brought 
down  in  its  turn  ;  and  so  on  alternately. 


PERPETUAL  MOTION  A  PERPETUAL 
NOTION. 

MECHANICS  seem  to  be  as  far  from  solving  the 
question  relative  to  a  perpetual  motion,  as  they 
were  two  thousand  years  ago  ;  and  yet  many  of 
them  are  still  troubled  with  the  old  mania.  No 
reasoning  will  deter  them  from  the  pursuit.  I 
suppose  the  reason  why  those  that  know  better  do 
not  endeavor  to  stop  this  kind  of  speculation  is, 
that  they  think  as  Bishop  Wilkins  did  two  hundred 
years  ago,  when  he  compared  them  to  the  man 
who  dug  the  vineyard  for  a  hid  treasure,  who, 
although  he  did  not  find  it,  yet  made  the  ground 


144  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

more  fruitful.  But  working  at  models  of  this  kind 
is  certainly  a  very  expensive  and  tedious  way  of 
studying  the  science  of  mechanics.  Reading  and 
attending  lectures  with  experiments,  are  much  bet- 
ter. The  Academy  of  Sciences  in  Paris  have 
resolved  that  they  will  have  nothing  to  do  with 
pretended  discoveries  of  a  perpetual  motion.  They 
have  decided  that  the  invention  is  impossible,  and 
that  all  attempts  at  the  discovery  of  it  are  a  mere 
waste  of  time.  The  quadrature  of  the  circle, 
and  the  trisection  of  an  angle,  are  also,  in  their 
opinion,  problems  impossible  of  solution. 

There  is  a  wide  difference  between  a  perpetual 
motion  and  a  self-mover,  which  latter  is,  indeed, 
what  the  former  term  is  used  to  signify.  The  for- 
mer moves  perpetually,  and  may  be  any  human 
contrivance  put  in  motion  by  the  ebbing  and  flow- 
ing of  the  tides,  the  waters  of  a  never  failing  cata- 
ract, variations  of  the  atmospheric  pressure,  the 
expansion  and  contraction  of  metals  and  other 
bodies  ;  in  fact,  any  motion  that  the  great  Author 
of  nature  has  made,  will,  if  we  can  hook  our  ma- 
chine to  it,  serve  this  purpose.  But  the  latter — a 
self-mover — show  me  one,  if  you  can  ?  I  will  en- 
close it  in  a  box;  and  ask  this  question — Does  this 
machine  move  without  the  aid  of  any  cause  be- 
yond the  limits  of  this  box,  and  yet,  after  it  has 
moved  for  a  definite  length  of  time,  will  it  appear 
as  likely  to  continue  as  it  did  at  first  ? 

There  are  only  two  kinds  of  motion  with  which 
we  are  acquainted — mechanical  and  chemical.  In 
all  mechanical  operations,  there  is  a  loss  of  power. 
In  the  steam  engine,  it  is  common  to  allow  one 
third  of  the  power  of  the  steam  for  the  friction  of 


PERPETUAL   MOTION.  145 

the  engine.  One  pound  of  power  applied  to  any 
machine  whatever,  will  not  raise  a  pound  weight 
through  as  much  space  as  itself  descended.  Mo- 
tion occasioned  by  chemical  action  must  come  to 
a  stand ;  for  the  materials  acted  upon  are  continu- 
ally undergoing  decomposition,  or  are  altered  in 
such  a  manner  that  they  do  not  return  to  their  for- 
mer state,  and  in  the  same  place. 

In  illustration  of  this,  take  the  steam  engine  for 
an  example.  The  fuel  of  the  fire  is  acted  upon 
chemically,  and  is  decomposed  ;  and  no  art  can 
return  it  to  its  former  state.  So  of  the  water  in 
the  boiler  :  although  the  steam  will  return  to  the 
state  of  water,  yet  some  of  it  will  be  decomposed, 
and  form  an  oxide  on  the  sides  of  the  heated 
metal ;  and  another  portion  will  escape  beyond  our 
reach.  Gunpowder  is  a  source  of  great  power, 
but  the  materials  of  its  composition  are  dissolved 
in  one  discharge.  For  fear  of  being  tedious,  I 
will  conclude  with  a  brief  quotation  from  Mr. 
Banks : — "  When  a  man  tells  me  he  can  construct 
a  water  wheel  in  such  a  manner  that,  when  once 
put  in  motion,  it  shall  raise  water  to  keep  itself] 
moving,  or  that  he  has  constructed  a  pump  in  such 
a  manner  that  one  man  may  do  the  work  of  ten, 
I  pay  the  same  attention  to  him  as  if  he  told  me 
he  could  create  a  system  of  worlds,  and  command 
them  to  move." 


146  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 


THEORY   AND  PRACTICE. 

IT  will  not  be  denied,  that  the  prosperity  of  this 
country  depends  in  part  on  our  manufactures  ;  and 
these  again,  depend  on  improvements  in  science 
and  the  mechanic  arts.  No  man  can  be  said  to  be 
a  finished  workman,  if  he  is  ignorant  of  the  theory 
on  which  his  practice  is  founded.  A  man  who  is 
well  versed  in  arithmetic  and  geometry,  together 
with  the  laws  or  properties  of  simple  machines, 
(improperly  called  mechanical  powers,)  with  their 
effects,  when  combined,  as  in  compound  machines, 
— I  say,  a  man  that  understands  these,  and  the 
laws  of  attraction,  of  simple  and  compound  forces, 
the  various  properties  of  aeriform  and  watery  fluids, 
with  some  knowledge  of  chemistry, — such  a  man, 
if  he  sees  a  plan  on  paper,  hears  it  described,  or 
reads  of  it,  especially  if  he  is  a  practical  man,  will 
be  able  to  judge  of  its  merits  more  correctly,  in  less 
time,  and  consequently  at  less  expense,  than  if  he 
were  merely  a  workman.  In  the  latter  case,  he 
must  construct  his  model.  If  this  is  done  in  a 
bungling  manner,  it  will  not  perform,  but  he  may 
conclude  it  would  if  it  had  been  well  made.  This 
is  all  guess  work.  I  recollect  reading  an  observa- 
tion which  goes  to  confirm  this  ;  "  that  if  a  plan  of 
the  steam  engine  had  been  shown  to  Archimedes, 
he  would  have  been  able  at  once  to  say  what  it 
was  capable  of  doing — that  is,  whether  it  would 
work,  and  what  power  it  possessed."  Now  if  our 
mechanics  understood  the  principles  of  science, 
what  time  and  expense  would  be  saved ! 


HYDROSTATIC    LAMPS. 


147 


HYDROSTATIC  LAMPS. 


IN  the  winter  of  1828-9,  I  tried  a  number  of 
experiments,  with  a  view  to  the  invention  of  a 
lamp  of  simple  construction,  that  should  answer 
the  purpose  of  a  complicated  and  costly  French 
clock-lamp  which  I  had  seen.  Several  of  these 
lamps  had  been  imported  for  our  wealthy  citizens, 
at  about  $75  or  $150  a  pair;  and  which,  when 
out  of  order,  it  was  difficult  to  get  repaired. 

They  are  ingeniously  made  to  pump  up  the  oil 
by  clock-work,  which  is  moved  by  a  spring,  from 
a  reservoir  in  the  foot  of  the  lamp,  to  a  small  cis- 
tern in  the  upper  part,  which  is  furnished  with  a 
\\-\ck  on  the  argand  principle.  If  the  machine 
should  pump  up  more  oil  than  is  wanted,  the  sur- 
plus runs  down  a  small  waste  pipe  into  the  reser- 


148  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

voir  again.  Fig.  1  represents  a  French  clock- 
lamp,  with  the  machinery  enclosed  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  pedestal,  marked  A,  and  the  oil  in  the 
part  B.  There  are  two  tubes  inside  the  pillar  c, 
one  to  convey  the  oil  to  the  cistern  at  top,  and  the 
other  to  carry  down  the  surplus  oil. 

My  first  attempt  was  to  make  a  lamp  (which  is 
represented  at  fig.  2)  on  the  principle  of  the  hy- 
drostatic hellows.  I  procured  a  bladder  of  about 
three  inches  in  diameter,  and  capable  of  holding 
half  a  pint  of  oil.  The  neck  of  it  I  secured  to 
one  end  of  a  small  tube  eighteen  inches  long;  and 
to  the  other  end  of  the  tube,  a  glass  lamp,  having 
a  hole  through  the  bottom,  was  cemented.  A 
lead  weight,  with  a  hole  through  it  to  receive  the 
tube,  and  shaped  to  fit  the  upper  part  of  the  blad- 
der, was  so  adjusted  that  it  would  press  the  oil 
from  the  bladder  just  half  way  up  the  glass  lamp. 
The  bladder  and  weight  were  enclosed  in  a  tin 
case,  which  answered  for  a  foot ;  and  the  tube 
would  move  freely  up  and  down  in  the  centre  of 
the  top  of  the  case.  The  lamp,  thus  prepared, 
was  lighted  and  placed  on  the  mantel-piece  ;  and 
after  burning  undisturbed  for  nine  hours,  the  oil 
stood  rather  higher  in  the  lamp  than  it  did  at  first. 

This  lamp  will  burn  much  longer  than  the  com- 
mon kind,  on  account  of  the  greater  quantity  of 
oil  in  the  reservoir  :  and  will  give  a  better  light, 
because  the  oil  can  be  kept  always  at  the  most 
suitable  distance  from  the  flame,  by  the  adjustment 
of  the  weight.  These  are  important  points,  and 
cannot  fail  to  be  appreciated,  by  persons  wanting 
a  uniform  light  for  a  considerable  length  of  time. 


HYDROSTATIC   LAMPS.  149 

The  only  difficulties  I  experienced  with  this 
lamp  were,  that  in  very  cold  weather,  the  weight 
was  not  sufficient  to  raise  the  chilled  oil  through 
so  small  a  tuhe;  and  if  the  lamp  was  placed  in  a 
situation  where  it  was  subject  to  disturbance  by 
violent  shaking,  like  that  of  striking  the  table  on 
which  it  stood  with  the  hand,  or  jumping  on  the 
floor,  the  oil  would  be  put  in  motion,  and  raised 
higher  in  the  lamp. 

The  lamp  just  described  may  be  called  self-act- 
ing ;  but  I  made  several  others,  in  which  the  oil 
\vas  forced  up  by  hand.  One  of  the  best  of  these, 
which  has  been  in  use  in  my  family  for  about  five 
years,  I  will  now  describe.  It  is  represented  at 
Fig.  3,  and  consists  of  a  glass  lamp,  and  a  tube 
passing  into  a  case  below,  as  in  Fig.  2  ;  but  instead 
of  a  bladder  being  fixed  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
tube,  it  is  formed  into  a  piston,  and  slides  into  a 
larger  tube,  which,  with  two  valves,  one  at  the 
bottom  of  the  large  tube  below  the  piston,  and  the 
other  at  the  bottom  of  the  glass  lamp,  closing  the 
end  of  the  small  tube,  forms  a  complete  pumping 
apparatus.  The  piston  is  depressed  by  the  finger 
applied  at  A,  and  is  raised  by  a  spiral  spring,  which 
surrounds  the  small  tube  above  the  piston.  The 
oil  is  put  into  the  case  at  B,  in  this  lamp;  but  in 
the  self-acting  one,  it  is  introduced  at  the  top  of 
the  glass  lamp ;  and  in  both,  if  the  oil  should  by 
accident  be  forced  over  the  top,  it  will  pass  into 
the  case  where  the  tube  enters. 


150  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

A  NEW  DISCOVERY. 

APPRENTICES'  LIBRARY  ASSOCIATIONS. 

A  DISCOVERY  has  lately  been  made,  which 
promises  to  be  of  great  benefit  to  all  classes  of 
the  community,  especially  to  our  mechanics ;  and 
particularly  the  younger  portion  of  them.  This 
contrivance,  vrhen  put  into  extensive  operation, 
possesses  so  much  power,  that  the  effects  produced 
by  the  steam  engine  dwindle  into  insignificance, 
when  compared  with  those  which  it  is  able  to  pro- 
duce. It  is  believed  that  suitable  materials  for 
the  construction  of  these  machines  exist  in  every 
section  of  the  country;  indeed,  some  persons  are 
of  opinion  that  there  are  but  few  towns  in  which 
materials  are  not  to  be  found,  suitable  for  the 
work. 

I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  the 
operation  of  several  of  these  machines,  within  a 
few  months.  One  or  two  of  them  pleased  me  so 
much,  that  I  was  induced  to  attempt  a  description 
of  them.  The  materials  require  considerable  judg- 
ment in  their  selection  ;  and  they  must  be  sea- 
soned for  years  before  they  are  fit  for  any  part  of 
the  work.  The  main-spring  or  first  mover,  and 
some  other  parts,  should  be  made  of  well  tempered 
materials,  for  the  several  wheels,  levers,  &c.,  to  be 
acted  upon,  are  of  such  a  nature,  that  they  are 
subject  to  some  irregularities  in  their  movements. 
These  difficulties,  however,  may  be  overcome  by 
skilful  management. 


A   NEW    DISCOVERY.  151 

Like  most  kinds  of  machinery,  the  better  the 
several  parts  are  fitted  and  polished,  the  more  likely 
they  will  be  to  perform  well.  But  it  appears  ne- 
cessary that  the  various  rubbing  parts  should  be 
kept  in  motion  for  some  time  before  the  machine 
can  be  said  to  be  finished  ;  for,  after  the  workman 
has  done  his  best,  there  will  still  remain  many  sharp 
edges,  as  well  as  protuberances  and  eccentricities, 
which  had  entirely  escaped  his  notice,  or  whose 
removal  was  beyond  his  art. 

Those  persons  who  have  devoted  most  time  and 
money  towards  perfecting  this  invention,  do  not 
wish  to  monopolize  the  business  by  a  patent,  but 
would  be  glad  to  furnish  all  the  assistance  in  their 
power  towards  establishing  them  in  various  parts 
of  the  country.  These  machines  are  not  of  that 
class  called  labor-saving,  but  their  introduction  will 
have  a  direct  tendency  to  lessen  the  expenses  of 
many  persons.  The  laboring  classes  will  reap 
their  full  proportion  of  the  benefits,  if  they  act 
wisely,  and  adopt  them  without  delay ;  and  there 
is  no  danger  of  too  many  being  introduced,  as  the 
article  manufactured  is  not  likely  to  become  a  drug 
in  the  market. 

I  was  present  the  other  evening  at  the  anniver- 
sary celebration  of  the  "  Boston  Mechanic  Ap- 
prentices' Library  Association,"  at  Chauncey  Hall ; 
where  an  Address  and  a  Poem  were  delivered  by 
two  of  the  members.  These  exercises  appeared  to 
give  general  satisfaction  to  the  numerous  audience 
that  attended  on  this  occasion.  This  is  certainly 
one  of  the  most  useful  institutions  in  the  city. 
The  members  have  the  sole  charge  of  an  extensive 


152  MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 

library,  and  they  rent  a  room  where  they  hold  two 
meetings  a  week,  one  for  lecturing  and  debating, 
and  the  other  for  the  distribution  of  books.  At 
both  meetings,  when  no  exercises  are  going  on, 
they  amuse  themselves  by  reading  the  papers, 
which  they  are  supplied  with  by  the  kindness  of 
our  publishers.  Their  exercises  create  a  demand 
for  scientific  books,  that  might  otherwise  be  slum- 
bering on  their  shelves.  In  addition  to  their  library, 
they  have  commenced  a  cabinet  of  minerals,  and 
specimens  of  the  various  kinds  of  wood,  &:c.  Does 
not  this  afford  a  fine  chance  for  the  young  me- 
chanics of  Boston  to  improve  themselves? 

Apprentices'  libraries  exist  in  various  cities  and 
large  towns  in  the  Union ;  and  many  more  might 
be  formed  with  advantage,  especially  if  the  young 
folks  have  exercises  to  perform.  They  will  then 
have  some  inducements  for  study.  When  they  are 
free,  they  will  make  good  members  of  societies  for 
mutual  improvement.  It  seems  necessary  that 
there  should  be  a  link  of  this  kind,  in  the  chain  of 
that  education  which  begins  as  soon  as  we  have 
any  discernment,  and  continues  as  long  as  our 
faculties  are  preserved.  We  are  learning  all  the 
time,  and  our  minds  will  be  filled  with  knowledge, 
of  some  kind  or  other.  Then  it  must  be  a  great 
discovery,  to  find  a  plan  by  which  even  the  labor- 
ing classes  may,  by  associating  together,  improve 
themselves  in  useful,  practical  knowledge. 


AMPHIBIOUS    STEAMER.  153 


AMPHIBIOUS   STEAMER. 

THE  amazing  success  with  which  steam  has  of 
late  been  applied,  both  on  land  and  water,  sur- 
passes the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  the  me- 
chanical student ;  and  almost  realizes  the  imagina- 
tions of  the  poet,  who  says, 

"  Soon  shall  thy  arm,  unconquered  steam,  afar 
Drag  the  slow  barge,  or  drive  the  rapid  car ; 
Or,  on  wide  waving  wings  expanded  bear 
The  flying  chariot  through  the  fields  of  air." 

But  before  we  are  prepared  to  mount  into  the 
air,  by  the  force  of  steam,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
make  another  improvement,  so  as  to  unite  the 
steam  boat  and  steam  carriage  in  one  machine, 
that  will  be  capable  of  travelling  both  on  land 
and  water.  I  believe  this  can  be  done  on  a  small 
scale,  for  pleasure  if  not  for  profit.  A  boat  can 
be  made  light  enough  to  answer  for  the  body  of  a 
carriage,  and  yet  strong  enough  to  bear  a  little 
beating  about  at  sea.  At  least,  it  would  do  to 
cross  a  pond  or  small  lake,  and  perhaps  a  river 
whose  current  is  not  very  rapid.  It  will  be  neces- 
sary to  have  wheels  to  run  on  the  ground,  which 
may  serve  also  for  paddle  wheels  ;  or  what  wduld 
be  still  better,  it  might  have  separate  paddle  wheels 
similar  to  those  in  common  use.  The  ends  of  the 
boat  must  be  turned  up,  so  as  to  enable  it  to  pass 
in  and  out  of  the  water  without  wetting  the  deck. 

Having  faintly  described  this  new  steamer,  let 

us  now  imagine  a  little  excursion  with  it.    Suppose 

all  the  passengers  safely  on  board,  and  she  starts 

from  some  central  part  of  the  city,  and  enters  the 

11 


154 


MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 


bay  by  a  gently  inclined  road.  Very  soon  after 
the  fore  part  of  the  boat  touches  the  water,  the  fore 
wheels  will  leave  the  inclined  plane  ;  and  when 
she  is  afloat,  the  paddle  wheels  may  be  set  in  mo- 
tion. (In  crossing  some  rivers,  velocity  enough 
may  be  given  in  descending,  to  drive  her  across  to 
the  inclined  plane  on  the  opposite  side  without  the 
use  of  paddle  wheels.)  We  may  now  visit  the 
islands  in  the  bay,  catch  a  few  fish,  and  afterwards 
proceed  to  Nahant,  or  pass  up  the  beach  at  some 
suitable  place,  and  return  by  land,  crossing  the 
ferry  from  Chelsea,  to  the  place  from  whence  we 
started. 

The  following  engraving  will  illustrate  the  thing 
more  clearly.  The  name  I  have  adopted  is  the 
Alligator;  and  I  have  endeavored  to  give  it  some- 
what the  form  of  that  animal. 


[Steamer  Alligator,  entering  the  water.] 


ENCOURAGEMENT    OF    GENIUS.  155 


SOCIETY    FOR    THE    ENCOURAGEMENT 
OF   MECHANICAL  GENIUS. 

"  The  products  of  a  man's  mind  are  as  much  his  property  as 
those  of  liis  hands." 

IF  this  assertion  be  true,  ought  not  something  to 
be  done  to  secure  the  credit  to  those  who  spend 
much  time  and  thought  in  perfecting  useful  inven- 
tions ?  The  patent  office  is  not  adequate  to  this. 
It  has  been  stated  that  very  few  of  the  patents 
would  stand  if  tried  in  a  law-mill.  There  are  so 
many  points  to  be  attended  to — such  as  originality, 
the  oldest  patent,  the  claiming  of  too  much  or  not 
enough,  the  not  being  sufficiently  explicit,  and  not 
furnishing  proper  drawings  or  models,  &c.,  that 
the  expenses  of  a  law-suit  are  so  frightful  that  a 
poor  man  dare  not  engage  in  it. 

Several  plans  have  been  proposed  to  effect  this 
object.  One  is,  for  a  company,  after  examining  the 
project,  to  raise  the  needful  to  carry  the  plan  into 
execution  :  said  company  to  become  co-proprietors. 

1  will  take  the  liberty  to  propose  a  plan.  Sup- 
pose a  society  were  formed  in  Boston,  with  a  small 
fund — say  one  or  two  hundred  dollars  a  year.  Let 
this  society  hire  a  room,  or  what  is  still  better, 
procure  one  at  the  expense  of  the  state,  for  a  place 
of  general  deposit  of  the  articles  of  inventors.  Let 
them  invite  inventors  from  all  parts  of  the  state  to 
send  their  plans,  models,  &:c.  to  this  room  for  ex- 
amination by  suitable  committees,  appointed  on 
various  subjects.  But  instead  of  giving  the  suc- 
cessful inventor  a  sum  of  money,  give  him  a  cer- 
tificate, which  will  cost  but  a  trifle,  and  he  will 


156  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

thereby  obtain  a  good  name,  which  is  better  than 
rubies.  Let  this  be  done  in  public,  and  nothing 
will  have  a  greater  tendency  to  encourage  him  in 
his  vocation.  Publish  an  account  of  all  the  inven- 
tions annually.  Undoubtedly  such  a  book  would 
sell  well ;  and  the  community  would  thereby  know 
the  meritorious  inventor  from  those  that  pirated 
other  men's  inventions.  In  a  word,  it  would  have 
a  tendency  to  establish  a  correct  feeling  in  the 
community. 

We  may  mention,  in  connection  with  the 
preceding,  that  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
Massachusetts  State  Lyceum,  in  1832,  an  ad- 
dress was  delivered  by  Mr.  Claxton  on  the  sub- 
ject of  assisting  inventors,  after  which  he  intro- 
duced the  following  preamble  and  resolution  : 

"Whereas,  in  the  opinion  of  this  meeting,  many 
of  our  enterprising  mechanics,  for  want  of  scientific 
knowledge,  suitable  books,  and  proper  advice, 
frequently  incur  an  expense  of  time  and  money  to 
very  little  profit,  in  endeavoring  to  perfect  useful 
inventions,  which  might  have  been  avoided,  in  part 
at  least,  by  timely  application  to  some  person  com- 
petent to  judge  of  their  merits ;  and  whereas  it  is 
believed  to  be  in  the  power  of  this  Lyceum  to  do 
something  towards  removing  this  evil ;  therefore, 

RESOLVED,  That  this  Lyceum  adopt  measures 
to  remedy  this  defect,  by  appointing  one  or  more 
committees  of  advice,  procuring  a  place  of  deposit, 
inviting  inventors  to  send  in  their  plans,  models, 
&c. — and  by  such  other  means  as  may  be  deemed 
expedient  and  practicable,  to  promote  the  object." 


WARMING    ROOMS.  157 

This  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted, 
after  some  discussion,  and  referred  lo  the  Cu- 
rators, to  be  carried  into  effect  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  they  might  deem  expedient.  Unfortu- 
nately, this,  like  too  many  other  good  plans, 
failed,  through  neglect,  of  being  carried  into 
execution. 


WARMING  ROOMS. 

THE  following  is  a  description,  with  drawings, 
of  a  method  which  I  suppose  might  be  useful  in 
very  cold  weather,  to  contribute  to  the  comfort 
of  those  who  cannot  afford  to  keep  fires  in  their 
sleeping  rooms.  Among  many  expedients  which 
have  been  adopted  for  this  purpose,  some  are 
unhealthy,  and  others  absolutely  dangerous  ;  we 
might,  for  instance,  mention  the  use  of  warming 
pans,  hot  bricks,  bottles  of  hot  water,  and  burning 
charcoal,  the  last  of  which,  in  close  rooms,  is  known 
to  have  been  often  a  cause  of  death. 

During  the  late  severe  weather,  my  mind  was 
turned  to  this  subject ;  and  1  endeavored  to  fix 
upon  some  method  which  would  be  free  from  the 
disadvantages  of  those  above  alluded  to,  and  at  the 
same  time  equally  efficacious. 

It  occurred  to  me  that  most  small  families  have 
the  convenience  of  heating  water  by  their  common 
culinary  fire  ;  and  that  considerable  heat  was  re- 
quired to  raise  three  or  four  gallons  of  water  to  the 


158 


MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 


boiling  point,  and  that  if  this  water,  so  heated, 
could  be  placed  in  a  small  bed-room,  so  that  its 
heat  might  be  quickly  distributed,  (the  fire-place, 
doors  and  windows  being  closed,)  the  room  would 
be  warmed,  at  least  so  as  to  be  comfortable — the 
water  being  made  ready  just  before  bed-time. 

The  next  step  then  was,  to  provide  that  the 
heat  of  the  water  should  be  quickly  abstracted,  by 
exposing  a  large  surface  of  it  to  the  air,  or  the 
conducting  material  of  the  containing  vessel.  Sev- 
eral forms  of  apparatus  suggested  themselves,  two 
of  wh'ch  are  represented  in  the  engravings,  which 
it  is  proposed  to  construct  of  tin  or  copper. 

Fig.  l. 


WARMING   ROOMS. 


159 


Fig.  1,  is  a  vessel  consisting  of  several  flat  or 
oval  shaped  tubes,  which  are  closed,  except  at  the 
top,  where  is  a  tunnel  to  pour  in  the  water ;  and 
at  the  bottom  is  a  cock  to  discharge  it.  It  will  be 
observed,  that  the  tubes  are  connected  at  top  and 
bottom,  so  that  from  one  tunnel  all  the  tubes  are 
filled. 

Fig.  2,  consists  of  two  flattened 
or  elliptic  tubes,  one  within  the 
other,  between  which  the  water 
is  to  be  poured ;  and  the  water 
will  be  thus  exposed  within  and 
without  to  the  air.  A  current 
of  warm  air  will  pass  up  the 
inner  tube,  which  is  perforated 
with  small  holes  at  the  bottom, 
and  open  at  top.  A  tunnel  and 
stop-cock  are  provided,  for  the 
entrance  and  discharge  of  the 
water. 

The  effect  of  both  instruments 
will  be  at  once  perceived  ;  and 
it  will  be  observed  that  the  dan- 
ger from  fire,  as  well  as  from 
impure  or  contaminated  air  from 
the  heating  apparatus,  is  entirely 
obviated. 


160 


MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 


The  following  is  the  substance  of  an  article 
written  by  Mr.  Claxton  about  the  time  when 
the  "  ten  hour  system,"  so  called,  was  agitated 
among  us.  Whatever  opinions  may  be  enter- 
tained about  that  subject,  the  remarks  here 
made  appear  to  us  sound,  and  well  worthy 
of  consideration. 

THE    PRESENT   CONDITION    OF    THE 
WORKING   CLASSES. 

IN  regard  to  the  opportunities  of  the  working 
classes  for  regular  and  systematic  .studies,  under 
the  present  irregular  system  of  labor,  I  would  ob- 
serve, in  the  outset,  that  I  believe  these  classes 
generally  have  many  opportunities  for  study  which 
they  neglect ;  and  the  common  cry  of  want  of 
time  comes  with  such  an  ill  grace  from  those  who 
make  it,  that  the  common  impression  is,  that  if 
more  leisure  time  were  possessed  by  them,  it 
would  be  no  better  employed. 

There  are  two  things  to  be  rigidly  observed,  or 
very  little  improvement  can  be  expected — which 
are,  industry  and  economy  ;  but  our  industry  must 
be  constant,  and  we  must  economize  time  as  well 
as  money.  These  things  appear  to  be  absolutely 
necessary,  in  order  to  warrant  any  hopes  of  success 
in  our  efforts  towards  improvement ;  and  with 
them,  a  man  must  be  dull  indeed,  or  placed  in  a 
very  peculiar  situation,  if  he  cannot  make  consider- 
able progress. 


CONDITION  OF  THE  WORKING  CLASSES.        161 

Let  us  take  the  example  of  a  carpenter,  or  a 
bricklayer,  if  you  please.  He  works  from  sunrise 
to  sunset  in  the  summer ;  but  in  the  winter  he  has 
so  much  leisure  that  the  time  hangs  heavily  on  his 
hands.  Why  is  it  that  such  a  man  does  not  adopt 
some  regular  and  systematic  plan  of  study,  during 
the  slack  season  ?  1  suppose  the  reason  is,  because 
it  is  not  fashionable,  or  he  does  not  know  how  to 
set  himself  about  it,  or,  what  is  quite  as  likely  to 
be  the  case,  he  does  not  realize  the  immense  value 
of  a  good  education.  He  will  perhaps  reason  in 
this  way :  What  benefit  would  it  be  to  me  to 
know  ever  so  much  ?  Should  I  get  any  more  pay 
for  my  day's  work?  Would  it  enable  me  to  han- 
dle the  trowel  or  the  plane  any  better?  And  so, 
instead  of  spending  the  winter  in  Boston,  and  at- 
tending to  lectures,  useful  reading,  &c.,  many  a 
man  goes  into  the  country,  and  spends  the  leisure 
season  in  lounging  about  stores  and  taverns,  in  bad 
weather,  and  in  fair  weather,  practising  the  sublime 
sciences  of  squirrel  hunting,  turkey  shooting,  &,c. 

But  take  the  ca^e  of  those  who  are  busy  all  the 
year,  those,  for  instance,  who  labor  in  manufac- 
tories, who  are  employed  from  sun  to  sun  in  sum- 
mer, and  from  daylight  to  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening  in  winter.  Some  of  them  find  time  for 
improving  the  mind,  and  all  of  them  find  it  for 
amusement  ;  and  if  some  plan  were  devised  to 
blend  instruction  with  their  amusement,  their  on- 
ward course  would  very  soon  be  apparent.  That 
many  opportunities  of  study  are  neglected  by  the 
mass  of  the  people,  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  those 
persons  among  the  working  classes  who  have  be- 
come eminent  for  knowledge,  are  those  who  have 


162  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

done  the  most  work,  who  have  been  the  most  in- 
dustrious, and  who  have  economized  their  time  as 
well  as  their  money. 

It  will  without  doubt  be  acknowledged,  that  ap- 
prentices in  Boston,  at  the  present  day,  have  a  far 
better  chance  of  acquiring  knowledge  than  Franklin 
had  when  a  boy.  Books  of  various  kinds  are  at 
hand,  and  numerous  societies  are  open  to  them,  all 
calculated  to  afford  greater  or  less  facilities  for  the 
acquisition  of  useful  information.  There  are  also 
many  day  and  evening  schools,  where  particular 
studies  may  be  pursued.  In  fact,  it  appears  to  me 
that  in  Boston  at  least,  the  means  of  improvement 
are  abundant ;  and  that  the  will  is  the  principal 
thin"  wanted. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  LETTERS. 

THE  two  following  extracts  from  letters  of 
Mr.  Claxton,  will  serve  to  show  the  cheerful 
disposition  which  he  was  accustomed  to  mani- 
fest in  the  prosecution  of  new  and  untried 
plans.  The  first  comprises  nearly  the  whole 
of  a  letter  written  to  his  brother  in  England, 
from  Russia,  on  the  event  of  leaving  that 
country  for  the  United  States  : 

"  DEAR  BROTHER  : — I  suppose  you  are  by  this 
time  ready  to  say  that  Russia  is  a  land  of  silence. 
It  was  not  my  wish  to  remain  silent  so  long ;  but 


EXTRACTS  FROM  LETTERS.        163 

as  I  have  been  in  a  state  of  great  uncertainty  for 
the  last  twelve  months,  I  did  not  think  it  of  any 
service  to  trouble  you  with  the  passing  events  of 
the  day  ;  for  there  are  not  many  days  without  some 
fresh  thing  to  engage  our  attention  :  and  as  I 
thought  you  would  hear  how  I  was  through  my 
wife's  brother,  I  rather  chose  to  defer  what  I  had 
to  say  to  you  to  some  future  opportunity.  And 
now,  it  seems,  I  am  compelled  to  say  something. 

I  am  about  leaving  St.  Petersburg  for  the  United 
States.  I  have  had  this  determination  for  about 
eighteen  months ;  and  I  assure  you,  I  have  been 
tired  of  this  country  and  our  concern,  for  that  length 
of  time.  1  made  great  effort  to  get  away  last  sum- 
mer, but  could  not.  I  hope,  however,  you  will 
not  think  1  have  made  myself  unhappy  during  this 
time.  Thank  God,  I  have  too  much  philosophy 
for  that. 

Last  summer  I  played  thirteen  weeks,  without 
receiving  a  farthing  of  wages  ;  but  could  not  get  a 
passport  to  leave  the  country,  until  all  the  Ameri- 
can vessels  were  gone,  and  a  passage  to  England 
would  have  been  dangerous.  My  employers  kept 
me  out  of  my  passport  as  long  as  they  could  ;  and 
as  I  received  it  so  late  in  the  season  that  it  was  of 
no  use  to  me,  I  made  a  new  engagement  to  stay 
another  winter.  I  recovered  all  my  lost  wages, 
and  had  my  weekly  wages  as  before  ;  so  that  I  am 
in  a  much  better  condition  to  travel  now,  than  I 
then  was. 

Perhaps  you  may  say,  How  came  you  to  think 
of  America  ? — We  have  a  worthy  man  here,  who 
bas  been  out  from  England  two  years,  and  being 
single,  he  has  boarded  with  us  for  nearly  that  time ; 


164  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

and  in  fact,  seems  like  a  part  of  the  family.  He  is 
a  good  mechanic,  clerk  and  draughtsman,  under- 
stands the  French  language,  music,  &,c.,  and  is 
generally  accomplished.  He  has  some  money  and 
a  good  stock  of  tools.  We  have  matured  our  plans 
together  ;  and  I  hope,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  to 
be  able  to  do  something  some  time  hence,  for  you. 
The  person  of  whom  I  have  been  speaking  is  about 
thirty-six  years  of  age  ;  his  name  is  Richard  Fel- 
lowes,  and  his  parents  reside  in  London.  He  has 
been  thinking  of  America  for  some  years  ;  but  it 
has  been  difficult  for  men  in  the  metal  trades,  to 
get  from  England  to  that  country,  especially  with 
their  tools.*  We  have  had  opportunities  of  perus- 
ing works  on  the  subject,  as  well  as  letters  from 
persons  residing  there. 

If  I  do  well,  perhaps  there  may  be  an  oppor- 
tunity for  you,  as  your  trade  is  good,  and  there  is 
no  difficulty  of  your  leaving  England. 

I  have  written  without  reserve,  and  shall  leave 
you  to  consider  of  it  two  or  three  months.  After 
you  receive  a  letter  from  me  in  America,  I  shall 
expect  your  thoughts  on  the  subject.  1  do  not  ex- 
pect, if  you  should  determine  to  follow  me,  that  it 
can  be  done  this  year. 

In  referring  to  your  letter  which  my  wife  brought 
me.  I  find  you  rather  alarmed  at  your  increasing 
family.  In  America,  we  are  told,  children  are 
hailed  as  in  the  patriarchal  ages  ;  they  are  '  towers 
of  strength,'  &z.c. 

*  It  was  for  this  reason  that,  when  Mr.  Claxton  left  Eng- 
land for  Russia,  he  went  under  the  assumed  profession  of  a 
gardener. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  LETTERS.        165 

I  shall  not  fail,  if  please  God  I  am  spared,  to 
give  you  all  the  information  in  my  power.  1  firmly 
believe  I  could  not  do  so  much  good  to  myself 
and  family  by  returning  to  England,  as  otherwise, 
and  am  therefore  determined  to  try  this  adventure. 
I  can  at  least  return  to  England,  afterwards,  if  I 
do  not  succeed." 

In  less  than  two  years  after  his  arrival  .in 
this  country,  Mr.  Claxton  was  deprived  of  his 
amiable  friend  above  mentioned,  (Mr.  Fel- 
lowes,)  by  his  death,  which  occurred  early  in 
January,  1825  ;  and  it  became  his  melancholy 
duty  to  communicate  the  intelligence  of  this 
event  to  the  friends  of  the  deceased,  who  had 
a  father  yet  living  in  England. 


In  a  letter  dated  at  Copenhagen  Roads,  (on 
his  way  from  Russia,)  addressed  to  his  wife's 
brother  in  London,  Mr.  Claxton  thus  calmly 
and  good-humoredly  remarks  upon  the  pros- 
pects before  him : 

"  You  may  say,  Why  go  to  Boston,  rather  than 
to  New  York  or  Philadelphia?  I  would  reply, 
that  we  were  ready  to  go,  and  there  were  no  ves- 
sels going  to  those  parts  ;  to  wait  for  them  would 
run  away  with  more  money  than  travelling  in 
America  would  cost ;  and  we  stand  as  good  a 
chance  in  or  near  Boston  as  anywhere  else,  be- 
cause people  do  not  emigrate  so  much  to  that  part. 


166  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

At  any  rate,  I  think  we  mny  stop  there  till  next 
summer,  and  see  how  things  turn  out.  We  have 
learned,  since  leaving  St.  Petersburg,  that  there  is 
an  oil  gas  company  about  being  established  this 
spring  at  Boston.  It  is  3  place  of  considerable 
trade,  and  has  a  number  of  populous  villages  about 
it.  'At  any  rate,  an  industrious  working  mechanic 
need  not  be  in  want  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  in 
any  part  of  the  United  States.  We  have  no  fears 
about  us,  if  it  please  God  to  give  us  our  health." 

In  a  subsequent  letter  to  the  same  person, 
Mr.  C.  gives  the  following  brief  account  of 
his  voyage  and  arrival  at  the  place  of  his  des- 
tination : 

"  We  sailed  from  Cronstadt  on  the  12th  of  June, 
and  on  the  22d,  I  wrote  you  from  Copenhagen 
Roads.  On  the  4th  of  July  we  lay  becalmed 
between  the  Orkney  and  Shetland  Isles,  on  the 
north  of  Scotland  ;  and  on  the  26th,  we  made  the 
Banks  of  Newfoundland.  After  passing  along  the 
coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  on  the  12th  of  August  we 
saw  land  belonging  to  the  American  continent,  (in 
New  Hampshire.)  On  the  13th,  at  eight  o'clock 
P.  M.,  we  dropped  anchor  in  Boston  Harbor. 
Next  morning  we  went  on  shore,  where  we  put  up 
at  a  tavern,  at  a  dollar  each  per  day. 

On  the  21st,  we  went  to  lodge  at  Mr.  Phil  pot's 
—en  old  shopmate  of  mine  at  Mr.  Braithwaite's, 
in  London,  whom  I  accidentally  met  with  in  Bos- 
ton, where  he  has  been  about  six  years." 


RUSSIAN    RECOMMENDATION.  167 


RUSSIAN  RECOMMENDATION. 

PERHAPS  we  need  no  better  proof  that  a  man 
\v\io  is  so  disposed  may  make  himself  useful 
almost  everywhere,  and  to  every  body,  than  is 
given  in  the  experience  of  Mr.  Claxton.  The 
following  highly  favorable  recommendation, 
(alluded  to  on  page  41  of  the  Memoir,)  which 
he  received  on  leaving  Russia,  from  the  Com- 
pany in  whose  employ  he  had  been  engaged, 
will  show  how  his  abilities  were  appreciated 
in  that  quarter  of  the  world,  and  how  well  he 
succeeded,  notwithstanding  the  various  and  de- 
pressing disadvantages  under  which  he  labored 
in  the  business  which  he  undertook  : 

"  During  a  period  of  three  years,  having  had 
ample  opportunity  of  proving  the  talent  and  wit- 
nessing the  sobriety,  steadiness  and  diligence  with 
which  the  bearer,  Timothy  Claxton,  has  uniformly 
pursued  the  business  entrusted  to  his  care,  we 
consider  it  a.  tribute  due  to  him,  to  furnish  him 
with  this  most  indubitable  testimony  of  our  une- 
quivocal approbation  of  his  conduct,  during  the 
period  of  his  engagement  with  us. 

Having  put  up  the  apparatus  at  the  government 
establishment  in  this  city,  the  Glavnoi  Stab,  for 
lighting  that  department  with  oil  gas,  and  attended 
the  making  of  the  gas  himself  the  first  winter,  viz., 
during  February,  March,  April  and  May,  1821, 


168  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

and  having  at  all  times  made  himself  useful  in 
other  branches  of  the  gas  business,  we,  the  under- 
signed, do  not  hesitate  to  recommend  him  to  any 
person  in  want  of  such  a  man." 


THE  YOUNG   MECHANIC. 

THE  history  of  this  periodical  reflects  a  credit 
upon  Mr.  Claxton,  which  he  does  not  seem  to 
have  thought  of  appropriating  to  himself,  in 
his  notice  of  it,  on  page  90  of  the  Memoir. 
Although  it  was,  as  he  says,  "  got  up  and 
conducted  for  some  time  by  six  members  of  the 
Mechanics'  Lyceum,"  yet  it  is  well  known  by 
those  most  concerned  in  the  enterprise,  that 
Mr.  C.  was  in  reality  the  prime  mover  and  the 
soul  of  the  work,  during  the  greater  part  of  its 
existence ;  and  that  upon  him,  together  with 
Mr.  Wightman,  devolved  nearly  the  whole 
responsibility  of  sustaining  its  scientific  char- 
acter. Although  its  circulation  was  not  exten- 
sive, and  there  were  many  discouraging  cir- 
cumstances connected  with  its  publication,  he 
devoted  his  time  and  attention  to  it  with  a  zeal 
and  perseverance  which  a  person  of  his  then 
slender  means  could  ill  afford,  and  which  could 
only  have  sprung  from  a  noble  desire  to  elevate 


THE   YOUNG   MECHANIC.  169 

the  character  of  the  class  with  which  he  was 
connected  by  his  profession,  and  thereby  to 
benefit  the  community  at  large.  And  his  efforts 
were  not  without  success;  for  the  work  not  only 
proved  a  valuable  auxiliary  to  the  Lyceum 
alluded  to,  but  was  evidently  the  means  of 
inciting  many  young  mechanics  to  engage  in 
the  study  of  the  departments  of  science  con- 
nected with  their  business,  and  of  eliciting  the 
results  of  scientific  investigation  and  experi- 
ment from  mechanics  and  others  of  various 
degrees  of  education. 

Two  volumes  of  the  work  were  published 
with  the  title  "  Young  Mechanic,"  when  it 
was  found  to  be  impossible  for  the  Association 
to  proceed  farther  without  additional  aid,  and 
some  material  alteration.  The  following  re- 
marks, from  a  subsequent  account  of  their 
doings,  published  in  the  Mechanic,  explain  the 
situation  of  the  matter  at  this  period  : 

"  The  Association,  having  labored  for  the  maga- 
zine gratuitously  since  its  commencement,  and  also 
incurred  some  loss  in  its  publication,  considered  it 
against  their  duty  to  pursue  the  object  farther, 
unless  an  arrangement  could  be  made  to  place  it 
upon  a  more  firm  basis.  This  they  had  learned 
could  not  be  done  without  enlarging  it,  making  a 
variety  of  improvements,  and  raising  the  price. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  was  thought  best 
12 


170  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

to  make  an  effort  to  increase  the  number  of  the 
Association,  by  inviting  individuals  interested  in 
the  progress  of  the  arts  and  sciences  to  become 
members,  and  also  to  solicit  donations  from  gentle- 
men interested  in  its  objects.  This  measure  \vas 
vigorously  pursued,  and  the  result  has  far  exceeded 
their  anticipations.  They  found  other  individuals 
willing  to  assist,  not  only  in  forwarding  the  maga- 
zine, but  in  prosecuting  measures  for  the  encour- 
agement of  mechanical  genius." 

After  the  increase  of  their  number,  it  was 
decided  to  form  an  Association,  under  the 
name  of  the  MECHANIC  FUND  ASSOCIATION  ;  the 
principal  object  being  to  collect  funds,  by  the 
members  taking  one  or  more  shares  in  the 
magazine,  of  twenty  dollars  each,  and  by 
donations,  as  just  stated — which  fund  was  to 
be  devoted  to  the  publication  of  the  magazine, 
and  the  advancement  of  the  Mechanic  Arts  in 
other  ways,  if  there  should  be  any  surplus 
means.  A  committee  was  early  appointed  to 
solicit  donations  from  gentlemen  of  other  pro- 
fessions, whose  efforts  were  quite  successful. 
After  sending  a  circular  explaining  their  objects 
to  various  persons,  well  known  as  men  of  an 
elevated  and  philanthropic  character,  they 
received  donations  from  the  following  gentle- 
men, some  of  which  were  very  liberal,  besides 
a  few  small  sums  from  others  : 


THE   YOUNG   MECHANIC.  171 

J.  P.  Gushing,  Esq. ;  Nathaniel  Bowditch,  L.L.  D. ;  Hon. 
Abbott  Lawrence  ;  Amos  Lawrence,  Esq. ;  Hon.  Theodore 
Lyman  ;  Messrs.  W.  &  S.  Lawrence  &  Stone ;  Hon.  P.  C. 
Brooks;  P.  T.  Jackson,  Esq. ;  Dr.  Geo.  C.  Shattuck  ;  Hon. 
S.  T.  Armstrong;  Hon.  Theodore  Lyman,  Jr.;  Phineas 
Upham,  Esq. ;  Geo.  W.  Lyman,  Esq. ;  H.  F.  Baker,  Esq. ; 
George  Darracott,  Esq. ;  Hon.  Charles  Wells;  Hon.  S.  A. 
Eliot;  R.  G.  Shaw,  Esq. ;  Samuel  Cabot,  Esq.;  Stephen 
White,  Esq. ;  F.  C.  Gray,  Esq. ;  Hon.  B.  T.  Pickman  ;  B.  B. 
Grant,  Esq. ;  Daniel  Treadwell,  Esq. 

Capt.  Alexander  Parris,  President  of  the 
Association,  also  gave  liberal  sums  from  time 
to  time,  for  the  promotion  of  its  objects :  and 
the  members  generally  were  not  backward  in 
making  any  sacrifices  which  their  circumstan- 
ces permitted.  We  may  mention,  in  particular, 
Mr.  Elisha  Tower,  (successor  to  Mr.  Claxton 
in  the  presidency  of  the  Mechanics'  Lyceum,) 
and  Mr.  Dunbar  B.  Harris,  as  among  the  most 
efficient  in  this  cause. 

The  magazine  was  now  enlarged,  the  title 
being  changed  to  "  Boston  Mechanic,"  and  was 
continued  with  spirit  for  two  years  after  the  do- 
nations just  alluded  to  were  received.  But  the 
Association  being  then  square  with  the  world, 
and  feeling  unable  to  incur  any  further  respon- 
sibility in  sustaining  the  work,  on  .account  of 
other  demands  upon  their  time  and  money, 
and  being  unwilling  to  make  another  appeal 
to  the  benevolent  public,  they  suffered  it  to  be 


172  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

discontinued,  by  being  united  with  the  Scien- 
tific Tracts. 

Thus  terminated  this  humble  effort  of  a  few 
individuals  to  benefit  their  brethren  of  the 
mechanic  classes;  though  they  accomplished 
even  more  than  might  have  been  expected, 
when  we  consider  the  fact  that  hardly  any 
work  of  the  kind,  however  valuable,  has  ever 
been  known  to  support  itselt  in  this  country, 
much  less,  to  prove  a  profitable  business. 
But,  as  they  say  in  closing  their  remarks  on 
the  discontinuance  of  the  work,  they  have  the 
"  satisfaction  of  a  well  founded  belief,  that  not 
a  little  good  has  been  done  by  the  publication 
of  the  Mechanic,  and  that  it  will  still  continue 
to  do  good,  wherever  its  bound  volumes  shall 
be  read." 


MR.  CLAXTON'S   INVENTIONS. 

IT  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  anything  to 
the  account  which  Mr.  Claxton  has  given  of 
his  inventions,  especially  his  air-pumps,  in 
the  Memoir  ;  but  the  following  remarks  of  Dr. 
Jones,  the  able  conductor  of  the  Journal  of  the 
Franklin  Institute,  made  on  the  occasion  of 
noticing  his  patent  air-pump  in  that  Journal, 


THE    BUNGAY   LYCEUM.  173 

will  show  that  his  articles  are  not  only  in  ex- 
tensive use,  but  approved  of  by  the  highest 
scientific  authority,  and  deserving  of  the  repu- 
tation they  enjoy : 

"The  patentee  of  this  improved  air-pump  is  a 
manufacturer  of  philosophical  apparatus  in  Boston; 
and  on  a  visit  to  that  city,  about  three  months 
since,  we  had  an  opportunity  of  inspecting  his 
establishment,  and  of  examining  many  of  the  in- 
struments made  by  him.  It  has  been  his  aim  to 
simplify  the  various  articles  which  he  makes,  in 
order  to  supply  the  demand  from  Academies  and 
Lyceums,  at  a  price  within  the  means  of  such 
institutions ;  and  we  were  both  gratified  and  in- 
structed by  the  singular  skill  with  which  ho  has 
accomplished  this  purpose,  without  any  sacrifice  of 
utility.  In  several  instances,  we  should  have  given 
the  preference  to  the  simple  articles  of  his  make, 
as  better  calculated  for  the  business  of  instruction 
than  the  more  complex  and  costly  ones  usually 
employed,  and  described  in  the  books." 


THE    BUNGAY   LYCEUM. 

WE  are  unwilling  to  omit  the  opportunity  of 
making  some  allusion  to  the  exertions  which 
Mr.  Claxton  has  been  making  in  his  favorite 
field  of  labor — that  of  aiding  the  progress  of 


174  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

intellectual  improvement  in  societies  organized 
for  this  object,  since  his  return  to  England. 
Besides  lecturing  in  various  places,  and  before 
some  of  the  most  respectable  institutions,  we 
find  him  engaging  with  heart  and  hand  in  the 
work  of  establishing  a  Lyceum  in  the  town  of 
Bungay,  (adjoining  his  native  place,)  on  the 
American  plan,  and  sparing  no  time  or  pains 
to  ensure  the  successful  accomplishment  of  this 
object.  The  Committee  of  the  Lyceum,  in  an 
address  to  the  public  prefixed  to  their  printed 
Rules  and  Regulations,  say — 

"  This  institution  owes  its  origin  to  Mr.  Timo- 
thy Claxton,  of  America,  who,  during  his  recent 
stay  in  this  town,  expressed  his  solicitude  that  the 
uncultivated  portions  of  the  Juvenile  and  Working 
Classes  of  his  native  place  might  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  acquiring  information  on  subjects  promo- 
tive  of  social  and  moral  improvement,  and  thus  be 
deterred  from  the  commission  of  evil,  (the  ever 
fruitful  result  of  ignorance,)  and  be  incited  to  the 
practice  of  good.  His  various  thinkings,  and 
frequent  conversations  with  others,  resulted  in  the 
adoption  of  a  plan  for  mutual  improvement,  similar, 
in  many  respects,  to  societies  which  exist,  with 
growing  advantage,  in  the  United  States,  as  well 
as  in  England  ;  and  from  the  former  of  which  its 
present  title  is  derived." 

The  following  testimonial  of  the  kindly  feel- 
ing and  respect  with  which  this  Society  regard 


THE    BUNGAY   LYCEUM.  175 

Mr.  Claxton's  efforts  in  their  behalf,  illustrates 
still  more  fully  the  success  with  which  they 
were  rewarded : 

To  Mr.  Timothy  Claxton,  late  of  Boston  in  America. 

We  who  are  deputed  by  the  Society  known  in 
this  town  by  the  name  of  the  Bungay  Lyceum, 
undertake  to  address  you,  our  founder  and  precep- 
tor. You,  sir,  are  just  on  the  eve  of  taking  leave 
of  us;  and  as  a  great  degree  of  uncertainty  prevails 
whether  we  shall  in  this  life  all  meet  again,  we 
cannot  let  this  opportunity  pass,  without  presenting 
you  with  this  small  memento  of  our  gratitude,  for 
your  past  invaluable  services.  Although  we  have 
long  felt  the  desirableness  of  an  institution  like 
this,  yet,  from  the  general  impression  on  the  public 
mind,  that  there  was  not  literary  taste  enough  in 
Bungay  to  find  nutriment  for  the  growing  wants  of 
such  a  society,  and  on  the  other  hand,  finding  that 
high  intellectual  culture  was  but  rarely  blended 
with  a  true  sympathy  for  the  working  classes  of 
society,  we  had  almost  despaired  of  our  wishes 
ever  being  realized.  But  you,  sir,  knowing  and 
feeling  that  men  are  not  made  useful,  good  or 
great,  by  merely  being  told  to  be  such,  but  that 
human  nature  wants  to  be  acted  upon,  not  only 
supplied  us  with  the  nutriment  which  our  under- 
standings needed,  but  kindly  condescended  to  enter 
our  ranks,  to  take  us  each  by  the  hand  ;  you  called 
us  to  duty  and  privilege,  showed  us  the  expansive 
nature  of  our  own  souls,  and  thereby  led  us  to 
estimate  the  end  for  which  our  rational  natures 
were  given  us. 


176  MISCELLANEOUS   PAPERS. 

You  have  opened  to  us  a  path  to  intellectual 
improvement,  and  induced  in  us  a  desire  to  advance 
therein.  We  do,  and  shall  ever  gratefully  remem- 
ber the  time,  property  and  energy  you  have  so 
liberally  bestowed  on  this  society,  both  in  its  for- 
mation and  through  its  first  or  incipient  stage ; 
and  we  earnestly  hope  that  your  labors  may  not 
have  been  spent  in  vain  ;  that  by  a  gracious  Provi- 
dence, your  valuable  life  may  be  continued  through 
many  years  of  health  and  usefulness  ;  and  we 
earnestly  trust  we  shall,  at  no  distant  period,  be 
favored  and  honored  with  your  presence  again, 
when  you  may  have  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the 
society  in  a  prosperous  state. 

On  behalf  of  the  Society, 

ABR.  ASHER  LEVY. 

SAMUEL  TIBNAM. 
BUNGAT,  DEC.  29, 1836. 


"HINTS  TO  JMECHANICS." 

WE  have  had  an  opportunity  of  glancing 
at  this  interesting  volume,  in  the  preparation 
of  which  Mr.  Claxton  was  assisted  by  our 
friend,  B.  B.  Thatcher,  Esq.,  while  on  his 
recent  visit  to  England. 

The  book  is  enriched  by  several  beautiful 
wood  engravings,  one  of  which  represents  the 
scene  where  Dr.  Birkbeck  first  conceived  the 


"  HINTS    TO    MECHANICS."  177 

noble  plan  of  instructing  the  working  men, 
of  which  Mr.  Claxton  has  succeeded  in  show- 
ing him  to  have  been  the  original  designer. 
The  investigation  of  this  matter,  as  may  be 
supposed,  was  attended  with  some  trouble. 
"1  find,"  he  says,  in  one  of  his  letters,  "more 
difficulty  in  collecting  the  information  wanted 
than  I  expected.  London  is  so  very  large, 
that  it  is  difficult  to  find  out  what  it  contains, 
as  persons  generally  are  acquainted  with  only 
a  small  portion  of  it,  and  there  has  been  until 
recently  no  vehicle  of  information  on  this  sub- 
ject. The  London  Magazine  is  got  up  to  sup- 
ply this  deficiency." 

Among  the  results  of  his  researches  into 
the  history  of  Mechanics'  Institutions,  he  in- 
forms us  that  "  the  version  given  to  the  world 
by  the  conductors  of  the  Glasgow  Mechanics' 
Magazine  is  not  correct ;  and  that  what  is 
stated  in  Mr.  Emerson's  address  before  the 
Boston  Mechanics'  Institution  corresponds  with 
that  account." 

An  example  or  two  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  Hints  to  Mechanics  has  been  noticed  by 
the  English  press,  will  not  only  show  what 
kind  of  reception  the  book  has  met  with  from 
the  public  there,  but  also  serve  to  give  a  general 
idea  of  its  nature  and  contents.  The  London 
Literary  Gazette  says — 


178  MISCELLANEOUS    PAPERS. 

"  This  is  a  most  meritorious  work ;  a  work  full 
of  good  sense  and  useful  information.  After  in- 
troducing the  author  himself,  far  better  than  a 
portrait,  it  treats  of  the  desirableness  of  a  sound 
education,  of  the  habits,  faults  and  vices  incident 
to  mechanics-,  and  their  reform  and  improvement ; 
of  the  evil  effects  of  ignorance,  and  the  beneficial 
effects  of  knowledge ;  of  the  application  to  busi- 
ness, of  the  employment  of  time,  and,  in  short,  of 
every  subject  of  interest  to  the  mechanical  orders, 
and  to  the  community  to  which  they  belong,  in 
which  they  form  so  important  a  part.  There  is 
a  degree  of  solidity  and  applicability  in  the  whole 
which  deserves  our  highest  praise." 

In  the  following  commendatory  note  from 
Dr.  Birkbeck  to  Mr.  Claxton,  on  the  receipt 
of  a  copy  of  the  Hints  to  Mechanics,  after  men- 
tioning his  late  severe  indisposition,  he  ex- 
presses his  full  satisfaction  of  the  statements 
there  made,  in  regard  to  this  subject,  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  I  have  had  an  opportunity,  at  length,  of  pe- 
rusing your  '  Hints,'  and  approve  of  them,  as  well 
as  feel  satisfied  with  the  manner  in  which  you 
have  managed  the  subject  of  my  claims,  if  so  they 
may  be  termed.  It  is  at  least  an  honest  and  cor- 
rect statement  of  facts ;  and  be  the  impression  or 
opinion  what  it  may,  that  is  produced  by  the  ex- 
position, it  cannot  fail  to  render  the  matter  more 
clear  and  satisfactory  than  anything  which  has 
before  been  written,  to  all  persons  who  inquire 


"HINTS  TO  MECHANICS."  179 

into  the  matter  with  minds  honest  and  unpreju- 
diced. I  feel  therefore  obliged  as  well  as  satisfied, 
by  the  position  in  which  I  have  been  placed  by 
you. 

1  hope  that  your  book  will  be  extensively  read 
by  the  working  classes,  as  they  cannot  fail  to  be 
benefited  by  the  admirable  practical  admonitions 
and  encouragement  which  you  have  introduced. 
Your  style  is  certainly  well  adapted  to  reach  the 
understanding  and  secure  the  conviction  of  the 
operatives. 

I  remain  with  great  respect  yours  truly, 

GEORGE  BIRKBECK." 


1  CORNHILL,  BOSTON,  JUNE,  1839. 

LEONARD'S  ARITHMETIC. 

Sust 


A  Practical  Treatise  on  ARITHMETIC,  wherein  every 

principle  taught  is  explained  in  a  simple  and  obvious  manner;  con- 
taining numerous  Questions,  and  combining  the  useful  properties  of 
former  works  with  the  modem  improvements.  Being  a  COMPLETE 
SYSTEM  in  one  book.  To  which  is  added,  a  Description  of 
BOOK-KEEPING,  with  Examples  for  Practice.—  By  GEORCB 
LEONARD,  JR. 

This  work  commences  in  a  very  simple  manner,  so  as  to 
be  completely  understood  by  a  person  of  moderate  capa- 
city, having  no  previous  knowledge  of  the  subject.  It  ad- 
vances by  regular  and  almost  imperceptible  gradations, 
from  the  easy  and  obvious,  to  the  more  difficult  parts  ; 
rendering  the  labors  of  the  scholar  agreeable  and  amusing, 
and  saving  the  teacher  much  trouble  and  vexation.  The 
reason  of  every  rule  is  made  evident,  either  by  questions 
which  lead  the  scholar  to  discover  its  truth,  or  by  short, 
simple  and  lucid  explanations. 

The  articles  are  arranged  in  a  more  natural  order  than 
that  usually  employed,  so  that  the  operations  in  many  sub- 
jects are  performed  by  merely  applying  preceding  princi- 
ples, without  any  new  rule.  As  soon  as  any  principle  is 
explained,  it  is  often  employed  in  succeeding  parts  of  the 
work,  thereby  recalling  it,  fixing  it  in  the  mind,  and  show- 
ing its  practical  application. 

There  is  no  superficial  or  mutilated  account  of  any  sub- 
ject; all  that  is  important  concerning  it  being  given  ;  and 
this  is  done,  not  only  within  the  bounds  usually  employed, 
but  often  so  as  to  enhance  the  simplicity  of  the  work. 


USEFUL   WORKS 


The  subjects  of  Mensuration  and  Simple  Machines  are 
clearly  explained,  and  illustrated  by  neat  cuts,  of  which  the 
following  is  a  specimen  : 


The  subject  of  Book-Keeping  will  be  found  to  be  treated 
in  a  most  useful  and  practical  manner ;  for  it  contains  not 
only  the  proper  specimens  and  explanations,  but  the  scholar 
is  required  to  form  a  book,  and  arrange  in  it  transactions 
which  are  stated  in  a  promiscuous  manner. 

Copious  Questions  are  placed  at  the  bottom  of  each  page. 
They  resemble  their  appropriate  answers  in  phraseology, 
whereby  much  time  and  trouble  is  saved  the  learner,  as 
well  as  the  instructor. 


PUBLISHED    BY    G.  W.  LIGHT. 


The  simplicity  of  the  work,  the  regular  gradations  by 
wlrich  it  proceeds  from  the  easy  and  obvious  parts,  to  those 
which  are  more  difficult,  combined  with  the  numerous 
questions,  and  the  peculiar  adaptation  to  their  respective 
answers,  render  this  arithmetic  superior  for  the  purpose  of 
Self-Instruction.  It  is  plain  and  practical,  and  therefore 
well  fitted  for  the  Farmer  and  Mechanic.  No  arithmetic 
contains  more  that  is  useful  for  the  Merchant,  or  better 
adapted  to  his  purpose  ;  nor  is  the  mode  of  reasoning  and 
general  plan  ill  suited  to  the  Scientific  or  Literary  Student. 

O^/5"  Although  this  work  has  been  out  of  press  but  a  few 
weeks,  several  distinguished  teachers  have  decided  to 
introduce  it  into  their  schools,  and  it  has  receivad  the 
following 

COMMENDATIONS. 

"  We  are  frank  to  confess  that  we  had  seen  new  arithmetics  and 
geographies  and  grammars,  all  claiming  to  be  improved  ones,  till  we 
wore  ready  to  be  heart  sick  at  the  sight  of  them.  Kut  here  comes  one 
more,  and  circumstances  having  led  us  to  examine  it,  we  will  with  all 
lionesty,  make  one  more  confession,  which  is,  that  we  like  it.  Without 
making  very  high  claims,  without  any  claims  which  arc  immodest,  it 
really  seems  to  us  to  embrace  important  improvements  One  of  these 
improvements  consists  in  placing  Federal  Money  after  Decimal  Frac- 
tions, and  not  before  them,  as  has  usually — we  know  not  but  always— 
been  done.  The  Square  and  Cube  Root  are  al.so  made  more  intelli- 
gible than  in  any  work  of  the  kind  we  have  seen.  The  articles  on 
Mensuration  and  Simple  Machines  are  of  first  rate  importance,  nook- 
keeping,  or  as  the  author  modestly  calls  it,  a  description  of  book-keep- 
ing, seems  to  us  highly  dcsirabln  in  a  work  of  this  kind,  and  we  are 
glad  to  witness  the  present  effort.  We  do  not  value  the  questions  at 
the  bottom  of  the  pages  as  highly  as  many  teachers  do  ;  nevertheless 
they  may  be  useful  to  some  persons.  In  general,  however,  we  are  verv 
much  pleased  with  the  work  ;  and  we  wish  it  were  introduced  into  all 
our  schools." — Annals  of  Education,  Boston. 

"  This  work  seems  destined  to  take  a  high  place  among  the  useful 
treatises  of  the  same  class,  for  which  the  literary  emporium  is  distin- 
guished. We  have  not  given  it  the  examination  proper  for  a  thorough 
opinion  of  our  own,  but  many  of  our  best  critical  authorities  of  the 
dailies  at  the  north,  speak  of  it  in  terms  which  leave  no  question  in  our 
mind  as  to  its  merits.  Gentlemen  who  have  experience,  too,  in  mathe- 
matical teaching,  commend  it  to  us  warmly.  We  doubt  not  those  who 
are  on  the  watch  among  us  for  improved  school  books,  will  do  well  to 
examine  Mr.  Leonard's.— U.  S.  Gazette,  Philadelphia, 


USEFUL    WORKS 


"  We  have  seen  this  work  highly  commended,  and  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  deserves  great  praise,  and  is  likely  to  take  rank 
accordingly  among  our  most  useful  and  popular  school  books.  It  is 
well  known  how  many  of  these  treatises  are  mere  impositions — specu- 
lations—yankeeisms  ;  got  up  to  go  a  liitle  while,  like  a  well-lacquered 
Connecticut  clock,  or  a  broken-winded  horse  in  a  jockey's  hands.  This 
is  no  such  book.  The  pains  bestowed  on  it  are  manifest  on  every 
page  ;  we  have  never  seen  a  more  conscientiously  industrious  and 
careful  work  of  any  kind.  We  think,  too,  that  this  labor  is  well  be- 
stowed ;  that  it  tells  well.  Mr.  Leonard  thoroughly  understands  his 
subject  ;  and  his  heart  is  in  it.  He  has  sern  and  suffered  the  deficien- 
cies of  ordinary  books,  and  has  determined  to  produce  one  which 
should  avoid  all  these,  and  at  the  same  time  retain  all  that  is  worth 
retaining  about  them,  including  whatever  may  be  considered  the  real 
arithmetical  improvements  of  the  day.  This  object  we  believe  he 
has  accomplished  in  a  remarkable  degree.  \Ve  approve  specially  of 
the  good  sense  shown  in  the  eminent  clearness  of  the  explanations, 
which  are  never  tedious  and  obscure.  The  arrangement,  too,  is  j*st 
what  it  should  he.  This  is  enough  to  give  the  work  a  distinct  charac- 
ter."— Boston  Courier. 

"We  are  much  pleased  with  this  work.  All  previous  treatises  on 
this  subject  are  rendered,  in  a  great  degree,  unintelligible  to  beginners, 
by  the  confused  manner  in  which  the  subjects  following  the  simple 
rules  are  introduced.  From  a  number  of  years1  experience  in  teaching, 
we  became  convinced  that  a  knowledge  of  the  simple  fractions,  both 
vulgar  and  declined,  is  indispensably  necessary  to  every  learner,  to  a 
successful  prosecution  of  the  study  of  arithmetic,  after  having  become 
acquainted  with  the  five  elementary  rules.  For,  after  these  rules,  there 
are  very  few  in  arithmetic  but  what  are  based  on  vulgar  fractions.  In 
this  work,  fractions  immediately  follow  the  simple  rules,  and  the  work 
is  arranged  in  such  a  way,  that  the  various  subjects  follow  each  other 
in  a  natural  and  consecutive  manner."— Zion's  Herald,  Boston. 

"  We  mentioned  this  book  the  other  day  in  a  hasty  way,  for  which 
our  conscience,  on  second  thought,  reproaches  us.  The  fact  is,  that  in 
a  country  of  universal  education,  or  at  least  schooling,  like  this,  a  new 
school  book  is  a  matter  of  some  moment.  If  bad,  it  is  likely  to  do  no 
little  harm  j  if  good,  on  the  contrary,  its  sphere  of  usefulness  is  pro- 
portionally wide.  The  immense  circulation  of  some  of  the  arithmetics, 
particularly,  is  well  known  to  our  readers.  We  hope  Mr.  Leonard's 
book  may  be' treated  as  well  in  proportion  to  its  real  merit,  for  of  this 
we  are  satisfied.  Brief  and  clear  in  its  explanations,  admirably  ar- 
ranged, full  of  just  the  practical  information  which  the  boys  in  the 
schools,  all  over  the  country,  really  want  and  really  relish,  it  cannot 
fail  to  succeed.  We  have  no  space  for  a  notice  to  do  it  justice  in  our 
columns,  but  we  commend  it  heartily  to  the  attention  of  committees 
and  teachers." — New  York  ComercialAdtertiser. 

"  The  public  is  already  in  possession  of  several  valuable  arithmetics, 
the  merits  of  which  we  are  not  inclined  to  deny  nor  depreciate ;  but 
we  do  think  that  the  book  in  question  combines  their  advantages,  and 
besides,  has  peculiarities  which  render  it  quite  superior  to  any  other 
work  of  the  kind." — Bay  State  Democrat,  Boston. 


PUBLISHED    BY    G.  W.  LIGHT. 


"  We  are  not  in  the  habit  of  praising  new  school  books.  We  distrust 
such  notices  for  the  most  part.  But  few  of  the  myriad  treatises  pub- 
lished in  this  land  of  universal  schooling,  are  really  worth  one's  powder 
— for  there  is  as  much  of  nutmeg  humbug  in  this  business  as  in  most 
others.  However,  this  is  but  preface  to  Mi.  Leonard's  book,  which  we 
feel  bound  to  make  an  exception  to  common  rules.  It  is  itself  an 
exception.  We  feel  confident  this  work  will  have  a  great  run  5  and 
what  is  more,  ihat  it  deserves  it.  We  have  pride  in  seeing  such  books 
go  from  the  Boston  press.  We  trust  something  in  this  case  to  the  report 
of  those  experienced  in  teaching ;  but  to  any  reader's  observation,  the 
clearness,  completeness,  capital  arrangement,  and  remarkable  practi- 
cability of  Leonard's  book,  must  commend  themselves  at  once.  We 
earnestly  hope  it  may  meet  a  '  fair  field,'  and  in  that  case  it  will  need 
'  no  favor.'  " — Boston  Transcript. 

"  The  school  books,  not  less  than  the  schools,  of  Boston,  have  long 
been  an  honor  to  the  city.  Those  of  Pierpont,  Bailey,  Dillaway, 
Leverett,  Fellon,  Colburn,  Emerson,  and  many  more,  of  our  owm 
generation,  will  occur  to  the  reader  in  this  category.  To  this  list  we 
now  have  a  new  name  to  add.  Mr.  Leonard  has  produced  a  sterling 
treatise — an  Arithmetic  just  such  as  the  common  schools  want ;  lucid, 
simple,  complete,  in  an  eminent  degree,  and  so  far  as  the  real  avail- 
ability of  its  contents  is  concerned,  far  the  most  practical  work  of  the 
kind — the  best  calculated  for  general  popularity — for  great  usefulness, 
among  farmers  and  mechanics  especially,  that  we  have  ever  seen. 
We  are  convinced,  on  the  whole,  by  testimony  to  the  worth  of  this 
work  from  sources  at  once  disinterested  and  experienced,  independent 
of  our  own  examination,  that  it  is  destined  to  have  what  is  called  a 
great  run — and  still  more,  that  it  deserves  it.  Our  columns  are  no 
place  for  a  notice  which  would  do  it  justice.  But  we  cordially  com- 
mend it  to  Teachers  and  Committees." — Boston  Atlas. 

"  Its  great  advantages  are,  its  simplicity,  its  most  admirable  ar- 
rangement, and  its  remarkable  adaptedness  to  popular  and  practical 
use.  For  self-instruction  particularly,  and  for  the  farmer  and  mechanic, 
we  know  of  no  treatise  to  be  compared  with  it." — Bangor  Whig. 

{£?"  We  are  very  desirous  that  this  Arithmetic  should  be 
examined  by  all  interested  in  Education,  believing  it  will 
be  found  to  be  a  superior  work  for  Schools,  Academies, 
&c.,  and  also  for  Self-Instruction. 

The  work  is  printed  in  neat  Boston  school  book  style,  on 
good  paper,  and  is  well  bound. 

Copies  to  Teachers  for  examination  (with  a  view  to  intro- 
ducing it)  gratis. 
13 


USEFUL   WORKS 


SCIENTIFIC  TRACTS, 

FOR   THE 

DIFFUSION  OF  USEFUL  KNOWLEDGE. 

COMPLETE  IN  ONE  VOLUME. 

Illustrated  by  an  Engraving  of  the  "  Tree  of  Philosophy:' 


This  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  books  for  Family,  Town 
and  other  Libraries,  as  well  as  for  individuals.  It  contains 
twelve  Tracts,  of  about  24  pages  each,  on  interesting  sub- 
jects, by  some  of  the  best  writers  in  the  community,  besides 
other  miscellaneous  matter.  It  is  the  last  series  of  Scientific 
Tracts  published,  and  has  no  connection  with  any  former 
series.  This  work  has  so  high  a  reputation  in  the  com- 
munity, that  it  is  unnecessary  to  give  a  detailed  description 
of  it. 

"  Both  the  matter  and  the  manner  of  this  publication  appear  to  us 
admirably  calculated  to  promote  the  great  object  for  which  it  is  de- 
signed— (he  '  diffusion  of  useful  knowledge '  among  all  classes  of 
society,  and  we  trust  it  will  have  an  extensive  circulation." — Ohio 
State  Journal. 

"  A  highly  valuable  family  work."— -.Bo^on  Daily  Advocate. 

"  We  know  of  no  work  more  suitable  for  all  classes." — .Merc.  Jovrn. 


PUBLISHED   BY   G.  W.  LIGHT. 


THE  BOSTON  MECHANIC, 

AND 

JOURNAL  OF  THE  USEFUL  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES. 

EDITED  BY  PRACTICAL  MEN. 

Illustrated  by  numerous  Cuts,  and  neatly  bound. 


This  work,  which  includes  all  that  was  published  of  the 
u  YOUNG  MECHANIC,"  is  the  Magazine  which  is  noticed  in 
the  foregoing  Memoir,  and  from  which  extracts  are  made  in 
the  Miscellaneous  Papers. 

It  is  intended  to  afford  scientific  information  and  practi- 
cal instruction  in  the  MECHANIC  ARTS,  in  such  a  form 
as  to  be  useful  and  acceptable  to  Manufacturers,  Master 
Mechanics,  Journeymen  and  Apprentices.  A  large  number 


8  USEFUL   WORKS. 


of  mechanical  contrivances,  inventions,  &c.,  are  illustrated 
by  Cuts. 

The  work  has  been  recommended  by  the  two  former 
Mayors  of  Boston,  and  Professor  Treadwell  of  Harvard 
College,  as  follows : 

"  We,  the  subscribers,  consider  the  '  MECHANIC  and  Journal  of  the 
Useful  Arts  and  Sciences,'  a  work  highly  meritorious  and  useful  to 
Mechanics,  and  through  them  to  the  community  at  large. 

SAMUEL  T.  ARMSTRONG. 

THEODORE  LYMAN,  JR. 

DANIEL  TREADWELL." 

"  It  is  particularlv  valuable  for  mechanics,  every  one  of  whom,  who 
desires  to  improve  in  his  profession,  should  supply  himself  with  it.'; — 
Tennessee  Farmer. 

"  It  contains  a  large  variety  of  useful  matter." — Mercantile  Journal. 

"  We  would  recommend  it  to  every  mechanic  in  the  United  States." 
— Ohio  Free  Press. 

(J^r5  But  few  complete  sets  now  remain  on  hand.  Sold 
at  half  the  former  price. 


The  preceding,  together  with  various  popular  and  useful  works  in 
other  departments,  are  published  by 

GEO.  W.  LIGHT,  1  Cornhill,  Boston, 
and  126  Fulton  Street,  New  York. 


; 


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